‘Move will open our history to many more people’

Janice Mcguinness, the city council’s assistant director of commissioned services, explains the thinking behind the proposal to close the Canterbury Heritage Museum

We agree Canterbury has a rich heritage that needs to be cherished and made accessible to as many people as possible in the most appropriate way. That is precisely why these proposals have been put forward.

At the moment, very few people enjoy the wonderful building that currently houses the Canterbury Heritage Museum, or the important and evocative objects displayed there, because we can only open the museum on a limited basis and with an entrance charge.

It is not a popular museum and visitor numbers are falling. In 2015/16, there were just 10,778 visits, and of those only 1,700 were local residents. Sadly, this is a trend that we have been unable to reverse and this year the figures are even worse, with a projection of fewer than 9,000 visitors. Less than 600 local residents have visited so far in 2016/17.

The proposals would see some of the most important heritage assets such as Bagpuss, the Canterbury Cross, the Becket Tapestry and Rupert Bear, as well as the schools programme, moved to the Beaney. This is Canterbury’s flagship museum and entrance is free of charge for all visitors. Last year, it had 330,000 visits, with an estimated 52% of them being local people.

The move would open up our history for many more people to enjoy. The idea to create a new ‘family gallery’ is also exciting and we’re sure it would become popular very quickly.

We would also breathe a new lease of life into the building in Stour Street, turning it into a heritage and cultural hub and the home of the Marlowe Lab and writing centre. Some of the exhibits will remain, particularly those that relate to our rich literary heritage.

In the medium term, there are exciting plans to develop the heritage offer with a much greater degree of interaction, for example by using augmented reality.

There will be a focus on encouraging and engaging young visitors with Canterbury’s story. The building will be celebrated too, and we believe it would be enjoyed by more people, particularly new audiences.

We understand the concerns that have been raised, but believe this is an opportunity to improve our museums service and make them more sustainable, generate new investment to enhance our heritage, and enable more of our key heritage objects to be on display to a much larger audience.