Black Country Living Museum boss defends move to slash 70 jobs

John Hughes has written to members of an action group who had req-uested a meeting with trustees to discuss the controversial cost-cutting proposals. In the open letter to the action group, which runs the website Save the BCLM, Mr Hughes outlined the thinking behind the plans.

He said: "A critical part of realising this potential lies in the museum going beyond simply being a purveyor of nostalgia, with history and the past seen as a safe haven in a fast-changing world, to creating engagement with audiences where history is not a retreat, but a catalyst.

"And while recognising and accepting that achieving popularity is very important to us and a major validation of what we do, it is by no means the only outcome we aspire to, when promoting the unique and powerful story of the Black Country."

He added: "Nevertheless, in common with many org- anisations, in the public and private sectors, the museum – a self-funded cha-rity – has to adapt in the face of prolonged, challenging and uncertain economic times.

"This has impacted significantly on the level of visitor attendance and income seen at the museum this year, as well as resulting in the withdrawal of local authority funding. We are very mindful of the impact of the proposed changes on the lives of our staff.

"Consultations with them are ongoing and so far, after a period of six weeks, have involved 250 individual and group consultation meetings."

Bosses say the changes would save £250,000 a year. Plans include halving the number of costumed guides, from 80 to 40. The museum also plans to change the way primary pupils are guided around the site.

It also wants to introduce costumed learning assistants who will provide educational sessions, in order to try and make savings after visitor numbers dropped by 15 per cent this year.