Yahoo News York MP presses minister over museum funding for concrete repairs
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy has called on funding to be found for repairs to York Castle Museum.
The plea to Arts Minister Lord Parkinson follows the York Museums Trust finding Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) at York Castle Museum last year.
The discovery of Raac in the roof led to the museum closing for safety reasons from last September to December as it is weaker than traditional concrete.
This resulted in losses of £400,000 and forced the trust to use £80,000 of their financial reserves.
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Mr Sturdy meet the minister on behalf of the trust to raise the issue of government funding much-needed repairs to ensure the attraction’s future.
When the concrete was discovered last year, central government funded repairs to affected schools and hospitals.
But York Castle Museum is only one of a few affected museums to have the RAAC concrete.
Mr Sturdy called for the minister to intervene and find funding. Though sympathetic, Lord Parkinson said no appropriate scheme existed and the museum had received £1m of funding to help it recover from the Pandemic and its lockdowns.
The minister stressed responsibility lay with its owners, the trust.
He also stressed that cultural and tourism budgets are a devolved power to local authorities, and therefore fall under the remit of City of York Council (CYC) and the new York and North Yorkshire Mayor.
The Minister stated that the best way to resolve this issue is through the Museum, Estates, and Development Fund (MEND) which York Castle Museum has already made a bid for.
This grant is capped at £5 million, and the museum is seeking £4.8m for 2024/2025 to re-roof the museum and financially recover from the forced closure in 2023.
Each application is decided through a series of rounds by an Arts Council Panel with a final decision expected later this year.
Mr Sturdy told the minister the panel should give stronger consideration to the museum due to its finances.
Now, the York Outer MP is to write to key stakeholders, including York Castle Museum, the new Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, and City of York Council (CYC).
The new devolved combined authority has a budget of £540 million over 30 years with £57million immediately available in the first year.
Mr Sturdy will press the new Mayor to pay the due attention to cultural assets like York Castle Museum and consider a ‘bridge’ loan to the museum’s trust for short-term support. This would allow for further efforts to secure funding via the National Lottery and future government grants.
Mr Sturdy told the Press: “The meeting with Lord Parkinson has opened up plenty of avenues to explore for funding to help resolve York Castle Museum's RAAC. I will work with and support York Castle Museum with funding bids as well as keep the conversation ongoing with Lord Parkinson as future departmental funding opens up."
