Ellie Ames 10 January 2025

Bristol proposes shutting museums amid £51m budget gap

Bristol proposes shutting museums amid £51m budget gap image
Blaise Museum. LucyOn / Shutterstock.com

Bristol City Council has proposed permanently closing three museums in its bid to tackle a £51.6m budget gap for the next financial year.

Officers have suggested closing the city’s Blaise Castle House Museum, the Georgian House Museum and the Red Lodge Museum to save £132,000 by 2030, and cutting the opening hours of the Archives Search Room.

The council is considering ‘alternative options’ for the future of the buildings and their collections.

Bristol has also proposed increasing the cost of community meals, reducing the frequency of non-recyclable waste collections, and cutting spending on libraries by up to £2.4m.

The council’s finance sub-committee will go over the options at two meetings next week before formal draft proposals are put together.

Council leader Tony Dyer warned it was a ‘very tough time for Bristol’, with the authority at risk of bankruptcy if it did not close its funding gap.

He said: ‘We need to take a bigger, bolder, and more politically courageous approach to our budget.

‘We cannot keep salami-slicing public services, nor can we pretend that words like “efficiency” and “productivity” hold all the answers.

‘Many of the savings options published today recognise this – reflecting a need for comprehensive changes to the way the council works internally, with residents and communities, and with partners to deliver its services.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Chief Executive

Leicestershire County Council
Up to £234,171
This is a rare opportunity to lead a council with both strength and ambition at a time of change. Leicestershire
Recuriter: Leicestershire County Council

Director of Adults and Integrated Commissioning

Kent County Council
up to £129,530 per annum
A career-defining role at the heart of adult social care transformation. Kent
Recuriter: Kent County Council

Part Time Finance Administrator

Essex County Council
Up to £25081.00 per annum + Pro Rata
Part Time Finance AdministratorPermanent, Part Time£25,081 per annum, full time equivalentLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Senior Customer Services Adviser (Housing Repairs

Mansfield District Council
£28,598 - £33,699 per annum
Mansfield is a town of towns at the centre of things in Nottinghamshire - a place of many strong connections Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Recuriter: Mansfield District Council

No Wrong Door Deputy Manager

North Yorkshire Council
From £47,181 up to £51,356 per annum pro rata
We’re looking for a passionate, driven, and dynamic professional to join our management team within our innovative No Wrong Door (NWD) service. Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council
Linkedin Banner