Big vision to safeguard future of city museums

5-YEAR STRATEGY AS POPULAR VENUES LIE AT 'CRITICAL CROSSROADS'

- ALEXANDER BROCK Local Democracy Reporter

Blakesley Hall in Yardley and, below, BMAG and Smith & Pepper, the ex-Jewellery Quarter factory turned time capsule, are all jewels in the city's cultural crown

CULTURAL leaders in Birmingham said some of the city’s most popular museums were at a “critical crossroads” as plans to ensure their futures were revealed.

Birmingham Museums Trust, which operates several attractions, has unveiled a five-year strategy to reshape the city's museum landscape amid a “challenging” environment across the culture sector.

It said its vision was set out “within the context of the city council's financial constraints and wider sector funding challenges’, with one focus securing alternative revenue streams.

The Trust operates six historical sites - Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Sarehole Mill, Soho House and Weoley Castle.

But it warned current funding was “inadequate to maintain, open and deliver a visitor experience at these”

Under the new plans, the Trust said it would continue to work with Birmingham City Council on a long-term solution to fund access to these sites so they “can remain open beyond 2025”.

“We will also engage with Birmingham’s communities to understand their needs from these sites and how communities and organisations could play a greater role in their operation,” it said.