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Heritage organisations in the UK are in serious jeopardy of closure as a result of the cost of living crisis, with nine in 10 concerned about their future
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 17 Jan 2023
Heritage sites across the UK are facing the challenge of rising energy prices Credit: Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Nine in ten heritage sites in the UK are concerned about their future as a result of the cost of living crisis, with four in five saying that they need to drastically lower spending to stay solvent.
These are the results of a recent study by specialist heritage insurer Ecclesiastical, which said that 89% of heritage leaders are concerned about their organisations future.
The survey, called the Heritage Risk Barometer 2022, was made up of 500 decision makers working for different heritage organisations in the UK. It found that seven in 10 (72%) of respondents believed that many heritage organisations across Britain would be at risk of closure in the coming years, should expenditure continue to inflate at its current rate.
In addition, three quarters (73%) of those surveyed said that despite rising costs, they would have to significantly reduce ticket prices in order to continue attracting visitors who are also feeling the pinch.
In response to these challenges, those surveyed said that they had taken actions including renegotiating contracts with existing suppliers, making staff redundancies, seeking new suppliers and limiting the rooms that are open and heated. Organisations are also reducing costs by reducing opening hours, opening on fewer days and reducing existing staff hours.
“The heritage sector is facing unprecedented economic uncertainty as inflation and the cost of living soars,” said Faith Kitchen, customer segment director at Ecclesiastical Insurance.
“Heritage organisations are having to face huge challenges and many are looking at ways they can cut costs while still maintaining visitor numbers.”
One good bit of news came last week when the government chose to extend energy bill relief for the museum and heritage sector through to March 2024.
The government is replacing its current energy bill relief scheme, which ends in March this year, with a package targeted at more vulnerable sectors. The scheme offers substantially higher levels of support to energy and trade intensive industries (ETII).
Included under the scheme will be areas of work including museum activities, library and archive activities, operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions, and botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities.
Heritage
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