Tree felling work was going on today in the Museum Gardens.
There is a project in the area which will see flood resilience improved.
Not everyone will be pleased to see the loss of mature tree canopies.
Still the work does provide at least a short term opportunity to view the Yorkshire Museum and The Hospitium from normally obstructed angles.
The York Museums Trust has confirmed that it has cut its workforce from 144 to 101 staff.
It hopes to reopen the Castle Museum and Art Gallery in December but the fate of the Yorkshire Museum is less clear.
The York Museum Trust is receiving £850,000 from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The York Council has also given a letter of guarantee to YMT, providing them with access to a maximum of £1.95m over the next two years, should it be required.
A combination of wet weather and COVID restrictions has meant that York has been quiet once again today.
This may be the last weekend opportunity for a while for traders to attract customers. The prospect of another national lockdown becomes more likely.
Lets hope for a more considered approach by the authorities as they seek to address the effects of the second wave. We don’t need any more poorly considered road and car park closures.
Council taxpayers are to be asked to provide guarantees of up to £1.95 million in financial support as the York Museums Trust (YMT) project a budget deficit.
According to figures being considered by the Council next week the Trust, – which manages the Yorkshire & Castle Museums as well as the Art Gallery, – faces a £1.54 million deficit this year.
It has already made provision for £200,000 in redundancy costs. A 20% reduction in staffing is planned. The Arts Council have provided an emergency grant of £412,000.
£3.5 million of the Trust’s annual income comes from admission charges. These have largely dried up as a result of the COVID health scare.
The report says;
Covid-19 therefore creates an immediate financial threat to YMT’s
continued existence and the trustees have now logged a serious
incident report with the Charities Commission reflecting the fact that
they will require financial support in order to remain a going concern.
Without this they will run out of cash in January 2021.
Furthermore, the ongoing financial position will remain difficult into 21/22 since surveys of visitors undertaken nationally by the Association of Large
Visitor Attractions suggest that only 20% of the previous audience
numbers will be received on reopening.
If the Trust folds, then the museums – and most liabilities – would revert to the Council. It is estimated that, in such a scenario, the Council would face additional annual expenditure of around £2 million a year.
YMT has requested revenue funding support of £1.35m this year and up to £600k next year in order to keep York’s attractions open and to continue looking after the collections. This request reflects the fact that, as a charity, YMT are required to hold a level of financial reserves.
The York Museums Trust was founded in 2002 by the then Labour controlled Council. It currently receives an annual subsidy of £300,000 from York taxpayers.
The Yorkshire Museum is expected to remain closed until next March. The Art Gallery and Castle Museum (bookings only) have reopened.
NB. The YMT management were criticised during the lock-down period for failing to promptly reopen the Museum Gardens for use by residents. The gardens were one of the few open spaces available for socially distant exercise in the City centre.
On the third day of trading shopping centres around the City were reporting only steady shopper numbers.
There were spaces available in all car parks.
The unspectacular start may result in calls for the Council, and its agent Make it York, to step up publicity, street entertainment and special deals on car parking.
Meanwhile support for the campaign to have the Museums Gardens reopened is gaining momentum.
Paul Fawkesley, Founder of Treasure Hunt York, has emailed his support for the reopening
It is now over 3 months now since the York Museums Trust decided to close the Museum Gardens to the public.
Their caution was understandable at the beginning of the pandemic. No one knew what to expect or how long would pass before social distancing protocols would allow some resumption of movement.
Now the City centre is coming to terms with the health threat. Shops are reopening. People will be able to access churches. Some children have returned to school.
But people need pleasant, safe outdoor spaces in which to walk and sit. The Minster authorities acted promptly and reopened Dean’s park.
The Museum Gardens is ideally located. It offers a short cut from the shoppers car park at Marygate to the City’s retail centre.
Earlier today, visitors were incredulous when they found that the gardens gates were still locked.
That is not good enough.
The York Council and the Museums Trust should act and make sure that the park is reopened this week.
There are signs of life in some organisations in the City as they begin to address the harsh post COVID realities.
The Council has issued business recovery kits which may aid social distancing particularity in shops.
The move comes on the day when the Centre for City’s releases details of how the health crisis has impacted on visitor numbers to the City centre. Not surprisingly the profile has changed radically with those travelling from the suburbs (both as shoppers and workers) now in the majority.
This will come as no surprise as foreign tourist numbers are, and are likely to remain, negligible. The next three months will be crucial for many retail and tourist businesses in the City.
The City is middle ranking so far in how well is is recovering its high street “footfall” compared to other Cities. It has a recovery index of 24 compared to the least affected (Aldershot with a score of 57 and the worst Cardiff with 11).
But it is early days and a more general return to work next Monday will tell us more.
So what needs to be done?
Clearly York’s visitor economy is going to depend, at least in the short term, on people travelling to the City from within Yorkshire. They will need to feel safe if they are to be persuaded to come.
It is vitally important therefore that such large spaces as exist in the City centre are fully utilised.
We understated that there are events planned for Parliament Street but it is less clear what use it will be made of assets like the Museum Gardens, Deans Park and the Nave of the Minster. Indeed, imaginative programming at the Minster – which could safely accommodate over a thousand people during periods of poor weather – may be vitally important in any marketing strategy.
All could potentially accommodate Arts events while maintaining social distancing rules.
The Council has already listed streets which will be pedestrianised.
Incredibly it failed to include Deangate, one of the widest streets in the City and which could – together with the Minster and Deans Park- provide an ideal events space. Events held there would complement those planned for the other side of the City to the benefit traders and attractions in the Stonegate neighbourhood.
In the longer term better use will need to be made of the river banks and the City Walls but, for a few weeks at least, the City will need to concentrate on promoting itself as a vibrant, safe and welcoming destination.
It is time now for Make it York, the Council , the theatres, museums, libraries and other organisations to publish their short and medium term regeneration proposals?
From 10am today Dean’s Park will reopen in the heart of York. Please respect the guidelines currently in place across the country, protect yourselves & others where possible, and enjoy your visit
The Park will remain open 10am-6pm 7 days a week.
For the health and safety of others, the Minster reminds all visitors that ball games, smoking and dogs are not permitted in the park
York Minster remains closed but it is broadcasting services via You Tube and Zoom.
There is pressure now for the remaining closed central area park – Museum Gardens – also to reopen.
Another nice day in prospect. Plenty to do out and about in York
