Henley rowing museum facing financial crisis
More than half of museums say overall income has not returned to pre-pandemic levels
A popular museum near Reading say they could be forced to close by the end of the year, as they face "unsustainable" and rising costs.
New research shows nearly three in five small museums in the UK are fearing closure due to a significant decrease in footfall.
"We all want to save museum. That is the priority"
Steve O'Connor is the Director of The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, he said: “We are open at the moment, but it's looking increasingly likely that may not be the case towards the end of this year.
“We're just simply not able to get our income up to match the expenditure that's going out. It's been something that this museum has struggled with for a long time, but the pressure is increasing and museums up and down the country are seeing the same things.”
Mr O’Connor blames the cost of its 27-year-old building, rises to bills and National Insurance, but hopes that they can keep the museum running with a restructure to its operations.
He added: “We all want to save museum. That is the priority, and so those conversations and planning has started now. Hopefully we can get to a situation where at the end of this process, something emerges that ideally continues the museums story.”
A study shows that among small, independent museums – those with fewer than 100,000 annual visitors – found that two-thirds (64%) say the rising cost of living has led to a decline in visitor numbers.
It also marked decreased visitor spend (61%) and fewer donations (58%) are furthering the financial strain.
This research from GoDaddy shows four in five (78%) small museums report that this has been the most challenging period the sector has faced, whilst over half (58%) say overall income has not returned to its pre-Covid levels.
Consequently, three in five (58%) museums said they fear closure and Brits are being urged to enjoy a “small day out”.
Alison Bowyer, Executive Director, Kids in Museums said: “This is the most challenging period for the sector that we have ever seen. In contrast to many of our European neighbours, footfall hasn’t returned to pre-Covid levels and museums are contending with many challenges.
“Rising costs, reduced income, and cuts to funding are all adding to the burden.