Museum charges to remain despite opposition

Visitors will still need to pay to access a city centre museum despite almost 2,000 people signing a petition opposing the charge.

Since January, it has cost £4 for adults to visit the Museum of Oxford. Students, young people and emergency service workers pay £2. It was previously free for all.

Campaign group Save Our Museum delivered a petition to Oxford City Council on Monday evening, asking for the decision to be reversed, claiming the fee threatened the long term future of the venue.

Councillors have recommended that the local authority considers ways to help more local people gain access for free and that any profits go towards keeping the museum open.

The decision to introduce an entry fee for the Museum of Oxford was made by the local authority in October, with charges implemented from Monday 26 January.

Free entry is still available for visitors meeting certain criteria, including school groups, people who are registered as disabled, asylum seekers and people on state benefits.

Reasons given to start charging included a reduction in visitor numbers and a funding gap between the cost of running the exhibitions and the voluntary contributions the museum received.

But according to Avril Alexander, who started the petition, visitor contributions amounted to almost £12,500 per year and the funding gap was £50,000 - significantly less than the local authority had reported.

In addressing the council, Alexander said the decision to introduce a fee was undemocratic as it was not taken by full council and "there was no consultation amongst museum users or museum staff."

In response, council leader Susan Brown said the reported £50,000 funding gap was an error from the council's Freedom of Information team, describing the mistake as "not helpful" and confirming the deficit was much higher.

Brown described the "challenging financial position" facing the museum, and said the charges were added "precisely because we value the museum [and] that we have to consider how to protect its future."

The authority has now recommended that the council's cabinet consider further ways to provide free entry for people living in Oxford, as well as asking councillors to encourage residents to visit the museum to help raise footfall.

In the first six weeks of the charge, £3,700 was raised.

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