Museum grant awarded but at a lower level than before
08/10/2025
The Museum needs to become a commercially successful operation
Banbury Museum will receive another £590,104 of grant funding from Cherwell District Council over the next two years, but its less than the museum has received in the past and continues a downward trajectory.
The Museum has operated as an independent trust since 2013 and maintains full Arts Council accreditation.
The latest grant award, which was agreed by Cherwell’s Executive last night, will see a payment of £332,552 made this financial year and £257,552 next year – a reduction of £145,000 over the previous grant.
Reductions in financial support for the Museum began under the previous Conservative administration, with the current Liberal Democrat group choosing to follow the same path.
Councillor Rob Pattenden told the meeting the grant supported the council’s belief that access to culture was a cornerstone of a healthy, resilient and connect community.
However, the Museum needed to become a commercially successful operation which “washed its own face” financially.
He said: “The reason we are taking that action is because of the commercial reality of where we are. Everyone in this room knows how challenging things are for local government at the moment. We’re having to think very, very hard about how we operate.
“If we had (that dreaded phrase) and magic money tree I’m sure would fund all of these kind of things across the district as much as we could, but we’re in a different world now where you do have to make some really difficult calls.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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