Leeds arts council funding saves 25 jobs across museums and galleries

Leeds City Council will get a £4.9m investment from the cultural body over the next three years, it was announced in November.

The local authority said then that the “crucial” money would help it find “new and innovative ways to inspire and engage” visitors to the likes of Kirkstall Abbey, the Discovery Museum and Temple Newsam House.

Papers published on the council’s website this month have now revealed jobs across its estate could have been lost without the money.

They said: “Not having applied for or not accepting the funding would have a significant negative impact on the service: inability to invest in a range of audience focused programming, the loss of (around) 25 posts, and reputational damage.”

The grant, which works out at £1.6m a year over the next three years, is effectively a continuation of the current funding model for the nine museums and galleries the city council owns.

Both the Arts Council and city council have jointly funded the service over many years.

However, last month, the council announced it was setting up a new charitable trust to run all nine sites, so that it can attract new sources of income that are currently off limits.

Welcoming the Arts Council funding in November, Leeds’ executive member for culture, Councillor Jonathan Pryor, said: “More than a million people visit our museums and galleries each year, taking the opportunity to experience millions of years of history and heritage through a truly unique collection of exhibits, artefacts and artworks.

“This crucial grant funding allows us to not only continue to provide that experience but to also look ahead to how we can find new and innovative ways to inspire and engage our visitors both digitally and in person while raising the profile of our city and everything it has to offer.”