Hampshire Cultural Trust warns of venue closures if funding cut

The council is the trust’s largest funder, contributing £2.5 million a year, but following its recent budget review funding could be cut by nearly 50 per cent.

Hampshire Cultural Trust operates museums, art galleries and arts centres across Hampshire such as The Arc in Winchester, Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, Andover Museum and Rockbourne Roman Villa in Fordingbridge.

READ MORE: Hampshire Cultural Trust says it is ‘financially stable’ despite potential staff cuts

Paul Sapwell, chief executive at Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: "We understand that like all local authorities Hampshire County Council is in an incredibly difficult position as they have a huge challenge to balance their budget.

“Although our funding accounts for just 0.1 per cent of the council’s overall budget, we fully accept that we must play our part in taking a reduction. But we urge the council not to view a disproportionate cut to the funding of culture in our county as a simple solution to immediate budget pressures.  

“Since we were established in 2014, we have already absorbed a real-time 50 per cent reduction in local authority funding and have replaced that revenue through increased sales and fundraising activity, as well as substantially reducing our costs.

“Despite this, we will always be particularly vulnerable in a budget review of this kind, as museums, galleries and arts centres are not a statutory responsibility for councils. Culture is essential to the identity and fabric of Hampshire, is integral to our local communities, to everyone’s quality of life.

“Stripping out what keeps people happy and healthy only saves money in the short term. It is well recognised that the pressure on health and social services only increases when services contributing to quality of life are cut.”   

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The trust also manages, conserves and maintains Hampshire’s museum collections, with 2.5m historical items in its care.

More than 600,000 people visit the trust’s venues every year and 15,000 school pupils use the education programmes.

The organisation aims to help vulnerable groups such as those living with dementia, people suffering from mental health challenges and young people outside of mainstream education with targeted projects.

Chief executive Paul Sapwell (Image: Hampshire Cultural Trust)

Mr Sapwell said: “The value of culture to individuals, groups and communities really cannot be underestimated, and a cut of this scale has the potential to change the county’s cultural landscape permanently.

“Although I can’t confirm at this stage which venues will be affected, future venue closures across the county will be inevitable if a cut of this scale is agreed. We believe a better solution can be found and that the trust can have a positive future, although tough decisions will need to be made.

“We have a strong commercial model through admissions, ticket sales, cafés and shops, as well as an excellent track record in fundraising. Successes such as The Arc, for which we took on operational responsibility in 2022, prove that there are opportunities where we can build on our strong relationship with the council for the benefit of our communities. We believe a solution exists and we want to work with the council to find it.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: “For a long time now, we’ve been very open about the huge financial pressures facing the County Council in the coming years – with an estimated budget shortfall of £132m by April 2025. Like many local authorities nationally our budgets are stretched to breaking point – because of high inflation, years of underfunding by central Government and growing demand for core services like social care for vulnerable children and adults as more people need our help.

“With such major budget constraints, we are having to consider very carefully how we can close this funding gap in future and regrettably, some very tough decisions are now needed on what the Authority can and cannot continue to do in future. We must look at all areas of our spending, including the range of both one-off funding and recurring grant funding we have provided over past years to support voluntary and not-for-profit organisations serving Hampshire communities – such as financial support awarded to the Hampshire Cultural Trust. We are committed to working closely with the Trust on the details in relation to the proposals and possible implications should plans be agreed.

“We are already working closely with the Trust to explore a more sustainable financial solution for them in future that would offer them more commercial freedom to generate their own income, independently from the County Council. This option could also mean that the Cultural Trust receives less funding from the Authority which would help towards us balancing our budgets and ensure available resources could be focused to support the most vulnerable people in Hampshire in the delivery of vital core services.”