Winchester City Museum: City council gives £81,300 grant

Ian Tait made the comments as civic chiefs agreed to a one-off grant of £81,300 to Hampshire Cultural Trust to meet an steep rise in cost and expenditure.

Mr Tait suggested that the City Museum be moved to the University of Southampton's plans for the former River Park Leisure Centre. 

Speaking at a meeting on Monday September 4, he said: “My reason for speaking is that last April I approached the trust about a potential business venture which could have generated £20,000 income a year with no financial impact for them and very little management time.

“Initially I got a constructive response, but it then became clear they had no interest in meeting me and my business partner. 

“I fully understand that the core activities of the trust are the maintenance and promotion of our cultural heritage. However with tightening budgets it's essential that public bodies understand how they can be more financially robust.

READ MORE: Hampshire Cultural Trust: 'Financially stable' despite restructure

“I recently paid my £6.50 annual fee and visited the City Museum, which I enjoyed. However the museum offers an inadequate display of the city's history. 

“I support the school of art's plans for River Park Leisure Centre. I feel a well-managed area on the site could offer an excellent space to relocate the City Museum. This would free up the current building which could be re-purposed as a restaurant and would generate between £100,000-£150,000 a year. It's essential that public bodies respond to these challenges and generate more income.”

Cllr Stephen Godfrey said: “I am delighted we are considering this, but the report does not say if the funding is sufficient. 

“The report does not give much detail about the trust's challenges. Clearly, there are long-term challenges for our museums. We don't want this important organisation to live hand-to-mouth.”

Winchester City Council deputy leader Neil Cutler said: “We want to support the trust and make sure they are well-run. This grant will be sufficient for them. I'm quite content with the decision.”

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The city council's report said: “The claim for additional grant has arisen from cost of living pressures that both increased salaries and reduced income from visitors, together with increased running costs and costs to restructure in order to mitigate this financial difficultly.

“Due to the extensive services delivered by HCT on behalf of the council, including care and management of its collections, operating and developing the City and West Gate Museums and City Space within the Arc, it was deemed prudent to give due consideration to this request.”

A Hampshire Cultural Trust spokesman said: “In January of this year, Hampshire Cultural Trust undertook a restructure to protect the organisation’s future and to support its long-term business plan. 

“The restructure was put in place to increase the trust’s focus on income generation and reduce costs against a backdrop of challenging external economic factors – reduced spend by visitors due to the cost-of-living crisis, higher wages and the impact of both inflation and increased utility bills.

“In February, Hampshire Cultural Trust approached Winchester City Council to request an additional support grant for the 2023/24 financial year under the terms of its existing management and funding agreement. This grant request was made to meet the immediate pressures of reduced income from visitors and increased running costs. The grant of £81,300 has been approved by Winchester City Council and represents a one-off payment to support the trust through exceptional circumstances. The new organisational structure is now fully in place, and strategic and tactical activity is underway to increase revenue generation from admissions, ticket sales and the café and retail offer at the trust’s venues in Winchester and across the county.

“In addition to core funding support from Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Cultural Trust also receives funding from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, New Forest District Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to support venues in their areas.”