Council plans Beaney hours cut

It spent a staggering £14 million restoring and improving Canterbury’s flagship museum before it reopened with a fanfare in 2012.

But now the city council wants to cut the Beaney’s opening hours as part of far-reaching budget savings – including closing it one day a week.

The museum opened four years ago as part of the rebranded Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, hosting major art exhibitions and some of the city’s finest collections of artefacts.

Almost 7,000 people visit every week, but with no entrance fee, the council says the only way to save money is to reduce running costs. It proposes to shut the museum and its art gallery on Mondays, while opening later and closing earlier on other days.

The council insists the new hours will reflect when most people visit to ensure the “impact is minimal”. It has now launched a public consultation on the changes, which will not affect the Beaney’s library or visitor information centre.

The reduced hours will save £46,000 a year in running costs, largely through less staffing.

City council leader Simon Cook says the council had to re-evaluate the use of the museum in the wake of tightening budget restrictions.

He said: “We don’t want to charge for entry and are not allowed to anyway because it’s a condition of the Heritage Lottery funding we received towards the restoration work.

“From the visitor information we have, there are times of the week when it is not well used at all and we have to manage it accordingly.

“It is quite common practice for museums elsewhere to close on Mondays and that is why we are having a public consultation. But it is not a tick-box exercise and we want to hear what people have to say and suggest.”

As well as closing on Mondays, it is proposed the museum will open its doors an hour later the rest of the week, at 10am, and close at 5pm, instead of 7pm.

It would also open at noon instead of 10am on Sundays. The cafe hours would also be reduced.

Public comments can be made at www. canterbury. gov. uk before Tuesday, January 3.

The council’s policy and resources committee will make a final decision in February.

If approved, the changes to the cafe will take effect from May and the museum from June.

Opening hours could be cut at the Beaney in Canterbury – including closure all day on Mondays