By John Baron
Councillors sitting on a watchdog scrutiny board have raised concerns over proposals to close Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall.
Scrutiny boards examine council decisions and policies, as well as the overall performance of services and make recommendations.
Members of the infrastructure, investment and inclusive growth scrutiny board met at Leeds Civic Hall to consider the budget proposals and feed back on council plans, which include the closure the museum as part of a £106.6m package of efficiencies.
Chair Councillor Hannah Bithell (Lab, Kirkstall) told the meeting that board members held a private working group discussion in December and came back with the following feedback about the council’s Abbey House proposal:
- All options should be examined for the future use of the grade II Listed building.
- Members wanted to ensure future public access to the collection.
- There was significant concern over the lack of early engagement with ward members over declining visitor numbers. Earlier engagement could have provided greater opportunity to explore the impact of alternative marketing or investment strategies.
- Options to develop a meaningful response to closure proposals and to involve the local community had been limited by the timing of the proposal. Councillors recommended adopting a general principle of much earlier engagement with ward members where there is declining use of a public asset or service.
- There should be a proposed review of the city’s cultural strategy in light of the council’s current financial situation. Members stressed the value maintaining public access to the city’s collections and promoting a long-term sustainable city offer.
These concerns will be fed into a wider report of all five of the council’s scrutiny board to be considered by señor councillors at February’s decision-making executive board.
Michael Everett, head of finance for city development, revealed that the local government settlement from central government in December was £25.8 million higher than the council had originally budgeted for. He added much of it was a one-off grant for 2025-26 and was not recurring funding.
Mr Everett told the meeting that ‘discussions were ongoing’ over how the extra funding will be allocated and that decisions would be brought before the council’s executive board next month.
The scrutiny board meeting, which was held yesterday (Wednesday, 22 January), can be watched in full here:
The Abbey House Museum closure could save the council £160,000.
The council faces rising costs in services including adult social care, while central Government support of local authorities has been insufficient over the past 15 years.
Follow WLD‘s ongoing coverage of Abbey House Museum here.
WLD is following ongoing council cuts, closures and building sales in our Cutswatch series of articles.