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Hundreds of English Heritage jobs at risk amid restructure

Arts Professional
3 min read

English Heritage has launched a staff consultation amid plans to make 189 redundancies as part of an organisation-wide restructure expected to be instigated in April.

With 2,535 employees, the job losses would impact at least 7% of English Heritage’s staff.

The charity, which manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places, is also planning to close 21 of its sites during the winter and introduce limited opening hours at 22 further locations, which will be classified as “hidden gems”.

Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary of Prospect, representing heritage sector workers, said it recognised English Heritage’s financial situation was “difficult”.

“But it is also true that the skilled and dedicated staff who keep our history alive are the very heart of this organisation. Losing these skills and this experience would damage our heritage as much as losing the sites themselves,” said Thomas.

‘Our world has changed dramatically’

A spokesperson for English Heritage – which does not receive regular DCMS funding to care for its National Heritage Collection – stressed the economic challenges the charity is facing.

“All organisations need to review their structure from time to time, and English Heritage has not done so for several years,” they said.

“In that time, our world has changed dramatically. The pandemic and its aftermath led to lasting changes in visitor expectations and behaviour, both domestically and internationally, while many of our visitors and members are facing challenges with the cost of living.

“High inflation has increased the cost of conservation work at our sites, but significant and ongoing expenditure is still required if the condition of the sites in our care is not to deteriorate.

“The aim of these proposals is to ensure that English Heritage is financially resilient and can fulfil our charitable purposes,” they said, adding that the organisation was committed to working with trade unions to find ways to avoid and reduce redundancies. They plan to retain a team of more than 75 expert curators, historians and conservators.

Discussing plans to reduce opening hours, they added, “The reality is that we welcome a tiny number of visitors to these particular sites when they are open at weekends during the winter months (for instance, over one weekend in November, a number of these sites only welcomed 11 visitors).”

“Our usual way of opening isn’t necessarily suitable or sustainable at these sites, and for instance, offering special guided tours, temporary exhibitions or partnering up with the local communities for special events will provide a richer experience than what we currently offer.”