Heritage museum may need council subsidy to run (From Daily Echo)
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Southampton's Sea City museum may need council subsidy to run
9:30am Wednesday 19th May 2010 in Hampshire Heritage
The proposed Sea City Museum, Southampton
THE £15m Titanic museum planned for Southampton may require a public subsidy to run, the Daily Echo can reveal.
The admission by council leaders comes as figures obtained by the Echo show taxpayers are paying out £5 to subsidise each visitor to the city’s loss-making Maritime Museum.
The city council plans to replace The Town Quay Road museum with a new Sea City Museum next to the Civic Centre in time for the centenary of the Titanic disaster in April 2012.
But leisure boss Councillor John Hannides said that too may need a subsidy to run.
“In the modelling that has been put forward there are revenue implications that might need some form of public subsidy,” he said, although added it depended on visitor numbers.
Figures for the Maritime Museum show visitors have plummeted by a third in three years leaving the council with losses of £529,771.
The museum, hosted in the city’s medieval Wool House, cost the taxpayer £160,852 in 2008/9 – £4.71 per visitor. The council presently charges adults £2.50 for entry and £1.50 for children over seven.
Cllr Hannides admitted the level of subsidy was “clearly too high”
and said efforts would be made to attract more visitors.
He added: “It underlines the need for us to have a museum that can do justice to our rich maritime history.
Clearly the size of the Wool House is a major limitation”
The council is considering selling off the Wool House, one of the oldest buildings in the city, for a “suitable alternative use”.
Mark Wallace from the Taxpayers’Alliance said: “This fall in visitor numbers is disastrous and has resulted in a severe financial drain being placed on council tax payers.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Adrian Vinson said: “It’s to be hoped if and when the new Sea City Museum comes on stream there will be a revival of interest in Southampton’s maritime history.”
Labour leisure spokesman Derek Burke blamed the drop in visitors on overcharging and said all city museums and libraries should be free. He added: “The Maritime Museum is one of the main attractions we’ve got. I’ve seen people walk up and turn away when they found out they’ve got to pay.”
Cllr Burke said he accepted Labour’s policy would cost the council more money but said: “The more people we attract, the more they do other things in the city.”
Comments(17)
Lone Ranger
says...
9:50am Wed 19 May 10
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The total waste and poor control of public funds is nothing short of scandalous.
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Wasting OUR/MY money on schemes that are pie in the sky all to pollish e few counlillors and leaders's little ego's.
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Its bad enough paying to keep the Maritime Museum open, then add another one to it which will cost taxpayers even more.
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How dare this mob of Councillors take the perverbial out of the City residents any longer
damien thorn
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9:57am Wed 19 May 10
Jenjo
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9:59am Wed 19 May 10
Adrian Smith
says...
10:19am Wed 19 May 10
Jenjo wrote:Exactly - if the Wool House is too small then the Council needs to find another nearby location to house other maritime related attractions. The Town Quay buildings offer plenty of space - and by leasing appropriate space offer views over Southampton Water.
Southampton - the only city council in the country that wants to take its tourist attractions away from the waterfront and put them at the other end of town where nobody can find them
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The Council should not be adding any additional buildings to the Civic Centre - they will never look good bolted on.
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When the Police move out even more space will become available in the existing facility.
DCM
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10:28am Wed 19 May 10
My View from the Hill
says...
10:35am Wed 19 May 10
The cultural quarter (Tyrell and Greens), halted, The Ice Rink at the Civic (lost money) the shocking glass panels for the cenotaph instead of a proper memorial, The QE2 mile, a couple plaques in the ground below bar, no one knows about, the roads are laidened with potholes, parking everywhere in the city is a joke, no flood defences, well done to the council for managing to mess up anopther project.
Congratulations on managing to the offices built for Captia workers to use, how much of millions of pounds of contract you gave to Captia did it take to build that?
derek james
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12:05pm Wed 19 May 10
THE BRICK
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1:40pm Wed 19 May 10
The city council plans to replace The Town Quay Road museum with a new Sea City Museum next to the Civic Centre in time for the centenary of the Titanic disaster in April 2012.
(/quote)
So the Titanic doesn't sink until April 2012, thats a relief I suppose as we have 2 years to stop it happening. Also, where the hell is Town Quay Road?? Maybe that will be built in time for the disaster that we probably won't stop because it will need subsidising. Echo journalists, what would we do without them :)
MrGMan
says...
1:40pm Wed 19 May 10
Council can't win - if something is open it costs money, if it closes then people complain.
Adrian Smith
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2:18pm Wed 19 May 10
THE BRICK wrote:"Also, where the hell is Town Quay Road??"
Okay, so the Echo report says: (QUOTE) The city council plans to replace The Town Quay Road museum with a new Sea City Museum next to the Civic Centre in time for the centenary of the Titanic disaster in April 2012. (/quote) So the Titanic doesn't sink until April 2012, thats a relief I suppose as we have 2 years to stop it happening. Also, where the hell is Town Quay Road?? Maybe that will be built in time for the disaster that we probably won't stop because it will need subsidising. Echo journalists, what would we do without them :)
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Town Quay Road is the bit with West Quay Road at one end and Platform Road at the other (aka A3057). I know what they are referring to.
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SCC website lists the address as:- The Wool House, Town Quay Road, SO14 2AR.
Lone Ranger
says...
5:45pm Wed 19 May 10
MrGMan wrote:I thought you left Town when your two beloved Councillors Moulton and Smith failed in their attempts to become MP's.......as predicted.
So if the council had announced it was closing the museum would "view from the hill" and "lone ranger" be supportive since it is costing the taxpayer money? Or would they complain about "savage cuts"?
Council can't win - if something is open it costs money, if it closes then people complain.
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Its a good job they only work with the toys in local government and not the man stuff.
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Paramjit Bahia
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6:18pm Wed 19 May 10
Now even the Conservative Councillor concerned himself has admitted that his amateurish idea is not feasible financially and will have to be subsidised by the tax payers.
By the way is this Cllr. Hannidies is the same Tory who like the rest of his party is opposed to subsidising services and let the markets dictate? Bloody hypocrites!
This project must stop before our city is lumbered with another failed eyesore like former Tyrell and Green site, and destroys the appearance of prominent listed building of Civic Centre.
WoolstonSean
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3:34am Thu 20 May 10
I would have thought it was more than that, the place is a total embarrasement for a city with such maritime heritage, you can walk around the museum within 5 mins and that includes doing your shoelaces up as you leave!
The Maritime Museum needs to be replaced by an Iconic building like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. That museum put Bilbao on the map not just for what it houses inside but for the majesty of the building itself!
The new museum needs to be situated on the current Red Funnel site and move Red Funnel to a purpose built facility at berth 50 by reclaiming the old disused floating dry dock/flying boat casions that currently look awfull when viewed from Town Quay!
The terminal entrance could be where the current Red Funnel triangle car park is situated.
The old Red Funnel site and Mayflower park could be joined together then with a new entrance to Mayflower Park at the Holiday Inn roundabout. Mayflower park should be redeveloped along with the Royal Pier area.
Some flats will have to be included in some form as will a hotel as well as bars, restaurants as this developement would not come cheap, but in the end we could have something to be proud off, a first class waterfront!
Widen Town Quay Road into a full dual carriageway from Town Quay traffic lights to the Holiday Inn roundabout, there is a alot of pace to do this at present and would avoid the terrible congestion currently found there!
A footbridge over Town Quay Road from the Bottom of Bugle St leading straight into the fantastic new Maritime Museum are aka 'Guggenhiem'!
This council needs to look not only at Portsmouth, Bristol or Cardiff for inspiration but to other great Northern European sea ports like Oslo, Hamburg, Rotterdam, etc to see how it should be done as it's quite obvious know one at the council has the guts to go ahead with anything on our waterfront but just do the talk!!!
While other towns and citys make the most of there maritime heritage and open up there waterfronts we just dream about ours!
Ps alot of American visitors think the old Royal Pier is old world war 11 bomb damage, how embarrising is that if that is how visitors view our city!
So if anyone from the council have Frank Gearhy's email, he is the man who you need to get in touch with!
Redback
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8:12am Thu 20 May 10
Lone Ranger
says...
8:18am Thu 20 May 10
Paramjit Bahia wrote:I dont very often agree with your comments.....but on this "rare" occasion you were and are spot on.
Did I not say the proposed museum will end up as Hannidies Horror House?
Now even the Conservative Councillor concerned himself has admitted that his amateurish idea is not feasible financially and will have to be subsidised by the tax payers.
By the way is this Cllr. Hannidies is the same Tory who like the rest of his party is opposed to subsidising services and let the markets dictate? Bloody hypocrites!
This project must stop before our city is lumbered with another failed eyesore like former Tyrell and Green site, and destroys the appearance of prominent listed building of Civic Centre.
fuzzyfelt
says...
11:41pm Fri 21 May 10
Jammy Donut says...
9:37am Wed 19 May 10
Surely this could have been foreseen?
Cut the losses and abandon the project.