The current situation
At-Bristol is a registered educational charity (no. 1049954), and is not legally allowed to operate with a deficit. At the start of the new financial year (April 6th) this will be the case unless changes are made, or other sources of funding are found.
Funding and sustainability to date
In the past six years, the Council has generously supported At-Bristol as a whole, with £19M of both capital and revenue payments, but can no longer afford to do so to this extent. Short term funding from various bodies, including science centre funding from the Government and Millenium funding from the National Lottery has now all but run out, and At-Bristol needs to find a way to support itself over the long term. There is currently a £1.5M annual deficit, and the Government has refused application from At-Bristol for further funding. The revenue from 500,000 visitors per year generates £4.5M, but the costs of At-Bristol are £6M.
Why can’t Bristol City Council provide long term funding?
Bristol City Council can no longer continue to fill this gap as they would have to find the revenue from Council Tax. The Council is still committed to supporting At-Bristol with revenue payments of £250,000 per year, but to fill the huge £1.5M annual deficit would mean raising council tax by over 1%, and many people would be opposed to that.
The current proposal
Therefore At-Bristol needs to find other ways to be financially sustainable in the long term. The proposal of the board of At-Bristol is to shutdown Wildwalk and the IMAX, and focus its resources on the more profitable science museum, Explore, and the Planetarium.
Government subsidies for Museums and Science Centres
It is important to remember that as a charity, At-Bristol does rely on funding to support it to some extent. In terms of Government funds, the Government currently supplies in the region of £300-£320M to Museums, many of which are wholly subsidised – this is why entry to them is free. However, Science Centres do not receive this level of support, and entrance fees have to be charged to meet operating costs. The rules for funding England’s Science Centres are different to those in Wales and Scotland, which receive more Government support, which enables science centres like Techniquest in Cardiff to operate successfully. Save Wildwalk believes this is an issue that needs to be addressed, to save fantastic and valuable facilities like Wildwalk, which are surely just as important as museums, from closure. It is interesting to note that whilst museums are currently subsidised with up to £320M of public money, it would only take a fraction of the cost – £10M – to support all of the Science Centres in the UK and prevent them from closure! This surely should be reconsidered by the Government, and this is the main thrust of Save Wildwalk’s petition.
Sustainable UK Science Centres…
Interestingly enough, @Bristol, and Science Centres in the UK as a whole, have actually been significantly more successful at being financially sustainable than those in the USA and Europe: science centres in the UK bring in 85% of their operating expenditure from earned income, including admission fees, as compared with 47.5% in the USA and 57% Europe-wide. This is quite an achievement, and says something about the quality of these Centres, and it should be celebrated and recognised.
Olympic spending
There have been comments that the fact that the huge expenditure on the 2012 London Olympics, which was recently reported to stand at £9BN instead of the original estimated £3BN, is one reason why funding for Science Centres has recently taken a back seat. It is sad to think that however impressive the Olympics will be, it is, after all, a temporary event, whilst Science Centres and facilities like Wildwalk are established with the intention that they will be around hopefully for future generations to enjoy and benefit from, but without Government support, that may not be the case.
Bristol’s ambition to be recognised as the UK’s ‘Green City’!
It is ironic that a facility such as Wildwalk should be threatened with closure, just as Bristol City Council, the Bristol Partnership and the Environment Agency launch Bristol’s bid to be recognised as the leading ‘green’ city in the country. Organisations across the city were asked to sign a Pledge on March 2nd 2007 to make Bristol a low carbon city.
Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke said: “It is … important that existing businesses, those looking to locate to Bristol and those hoping to develop in the city put ‘green’ issues higher up their agenda” and “we are building a growing reputation as a ‘green city’, something we should all be proud of”.
Of the Pledge, she said: “Climate change is not just a global issue. Potential changes in sea levels and temperature make this a local concern too. Therefore, this event is more than just rhetoric. It is about facilitating and encouraging action. The Pledge will build upon Bristol’s reputation as a city that is already making a significant contribution towards a more sustainable future for all.”
Wildwalk is most definitely a facility that raises awareness of environmental issues within its visitors, hopefully leaving them thinking about how they might make a ‘contribution towards a more sustainable future for all’. With this in mind, how can we see such a relevant facility to Bristol’s pledge to become ‘The Green Capital’ disappear?!!
You can see the full news items on the following pages:
Bristol pledges action as Green Capital
Bristol could be UK’s ‘green capital’
Bristol Hosts 11th annual South West Play Celebration
It is also interesting to note that on March 3rd, Bristol is hosting the 11th annual South West Play Celebration, at which ‘More than 300 playworkers from across the South West will gather in Bristol at the weekend to share ideas about how to improve opportunities for children to have fun, whilst building their confidence and learning essential skills for life.’ Surely Wildwalk is a facility within which children do exactly that?! So again, how ironic to see it threatened with closure!
See this news item at:
Playworkers from across the south west gather in Bristol
Potential new uses for the buildings – God forbid..!
Bristol City Council is working with the South West Regional Development Agency and other partners to try and find new uses for the building. There have been various rumours about what might happen to the building if Wildwalk and the IMAX do close, ranging from sports and leisure centre, apartments, a conference centre, a giant bar, club or even a super casino. Surely not!