Councillors in Bristol are meeting behind closed doors today, Monday, to discuss swingeing cuts that could see the closure of three of the city’s museums.
The council-run museums at Blaise Castle, the Georgian House and the Red Lodge museums could be closed completely and the city council Archives Searchroom could see its opening hours cut back significantly under proposals help plug a gap in the council’s budget.
A letter from council director Alex Hearn to employees who work there, warned that they could be affected by the cutbacks. Mr Hearn told the people working there: “I understand this is very unsettling news to receive prior to Christmas and I’m sorry we can’t provide you with more detail at this stage, but we wanted to ensure you heard the news from us.”
Mr Hearn said that councillors on the Finance Task Group will be considering the proposals at a confidential meeting on Monday (December 16), which will look at ‘draft savings’ that could be made across Bristol City Council.
“The council continues to face a significant financial challenge, with a projected budget gap for 2025/2026 of around £52 million, which is expected to rise to around £68 million over the next five years,” he told museum staff. “Each service area has been asked to put forward draft savings proposals to help close this gap, including Culture and Creative Industries. We have been modelling various options, and we are now at the point where a Finance Task Group (made up of councillors) will be considering all the proposals.
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“On Monday, the draft proposals will be shared at a meeting with a confidential Finance Task Group and these include potential savings related to the Archives Searchroom, and Blaise Museum, Georgian House and Red Lodge. Therefore, I wanted to make sure you were also told what is being discussed.
“At this stage a range of options are being considered to find savings, however the total savings required will depend on what is announced in the local financial settlement by the national government next week. Whilst the amount we have to save will depend on this settlement, proposals being considered by the group include: the closure to the public of Blaise Museum, Georgian House and Red Lodge and a reduction in public opening hours of the Archives Searchroom.
“Although no final decisions are made on the council’s budget savings until Full Council in February, our current expectation, given the scale of the challenges, is that the above groups will be impacted in some way. Any proposed changes agreed will require public consultation of 12 weeks. If changes are approved after the consultation, any proposals that impact staff will be managed in line with the council’s Managing Change Policy, with support from HR,” he added.
“Please rest assured that the details of any specific proposals and timescales will be shared with you by myself or your managers,” he told museum staff, adding that decisions on exactly what will happen will be confirmed in the New Year, and the proposed savings will go to the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee on Monday, February 3, and then to the full council meeting at the end of February.