Athena

Cultural Crusader

Where will the axe fall next? THERE is no end in sight to the financial woes of local councils. The difficulties they create for museums and art galleries have become headline news in Leeds, where the council is faced with a shortfall in its budget of £106.4 million in 2025–26. A list of possible savings includes cuts to its museum services, about which a public consultation concluded in January. It has suggested a ‘pay what you feel’ entrance charge at Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds City Museum, where admission is currently free of charge, and abolishing free entry for Leeds residents to Kirkstall Abbey. Most controversially, it proposed closure of the Abbey House Museum, the city’s local-history collection, which occupies the abbey’s 12th-century inner gatehouse, arguing that its visitor numbers have fallen…

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Country Life (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 12, 2025

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