The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has released a new report that compiles evidence on the budgetary pressures facing England’s heritage sector, using a regional case study approach focussing on local and combined authority funding in West Yorkshire. The findings will be familiar to many industrial heritage sites.
The report outlines how over a decade of local authority funding cuts, alongside the loss of EU funding and the continuing effects of the pandemic, have placed significant pressure on small to medium-sized heritage organisations. While some have adapted through asset transfers, income diversification, and new governance models, others, particularly organisations in deprived regional areas, reliant on volunteers, or working with rural or intangible heritage, face an increasingly uncertain future.
The findings show, that since 2010 there has been a notable decline in local authority support for heritage, the limited long-term impact of project-based grants for smaller organisations, the essential role of support networks, and the close relationship between place and heritage. Thus, Local Authorities, the main providers of heritage services in their areas, have seen real-term cuts of up to 49% in central government grants since 2010, alongside a 35% fall in cultural service spending, and a 36% per capita reduction in planning, environmental, and cultural expenditure.
At the same time, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) reported real-term reductions of up to 24% durign the years 2011–2015. These cuts have led to closures, reduced opening hours, and the scaling back of public programmes, particularly in more deprived areas.
The impacts reported differ significantly by location and heritage type. Urban and asset-based heritage were found to often attract regeneration-linked investment, while rural and intangible heritage remain underserved and under-researched. The report also noted that there is evidence to show that funding cuts risk diminishing social cohesion and wellbeing, especially where heritage spaces serve critical civic and educational roles.
Industrial Heritage Networks 