The country’s largest performing arts and entertainment union has urged Bristol city council to drop plans to cut hundreds of thousands of pounds from the arts and culture budget through measures including closing museums.
Equity members have written to the council saying cuts would do significant damage to jobs and cultural activities in Bristol, a Unesco city of film.
The council’s finance subcommittee is meeting this week to consider proposals to make savings and funding cuts across the board.
Last week the council leader, the Green party councillor Tony Dyer, said Bristol was facing bankruptcy if it did not close a £52m funding gap over the next five years.
Among cuts being considered by the council are:
The reduction and closure of the Cultural Investment Programme (CIP), with the intention to seek alternative funding, to save £635,000 between now and 2027.
The closure of Blaise Museum, an 18th-century mansion highlighting social history with displays of dolls’ houses, toys, costume and domestic tools, to save £39,000 by 2027.
The closure of the Georgian House Museum, an 18th-century townhouse displayed in the style of the original period, to save £29,000 by 2027.
The closure of the Red Lodge Museum, a historic Elizabethan house, to save £64,000 by 2027.
Reducing the opening hours of the Bristol Archives search room to save £35,000 by 2027.
In a statement, Equity said the proposal to close the CIP was especially concerning as it had been the “lifeblood of stable funding for arts and cultural activities, festivals and partnerships”.
“The council says they will seek alternative funding, but there are not details for this, meaning individuals and organisations seeking arts funding will be left without a local government funding option,” the union said.
Equity has submitted questions and a statement to the council for consideration at this week’s meeting. The full council will meet to make final decisions on 25 February.
Last week, explaining the dire situation faced by Bristol city council, Dyer said: “Across the country, councils of all shapes and sizes face bankruptcy. This national crisis in local government finances has been driven by rising operating costs, a lack of government funding, a national failure to reform the country’s health and care system, a national housing crisis and a growing need for vital safeguarding services for vulnerable children and adults.
“Bristol is no exception and will face bankruptcy if we can’t close a £52m funding gap over the next five years. This needs to start straight away. In some areas we are still playing catch-up because other local authorities have already made decisions years ago that we are only facing up to now.
“There is no doubt that it means difficult choices, more taxes and charges, and we recognise that the money we raise does not go as far as it once did. We don’t like that any more than local taxpayers do, but it is the reality we must contend with.”
The Equity president, Lynda Rooke, a Bristol resident, said: “These cuts would be a disaster for Bristol and inflict significant damage on the local economy. Bristol is known as a city of culture, with thousands of jobs based in creative industries and people moving here or visiting for the unique cultural offering available.
“Local authority funding is worth more than any other source, including from the Arts Council, and once lost it never appears from other sources, however much the council may wish it to.
“We’re asking Bristol city council to drop plans for cutting culture funding. Culture cuts would have a detrimental impact both economically and socially, cutting off Bristol’s nose to spite her face.”
Bristol city council has been approached for comment.
