A survey of industrial heritage organisations in England during the second half of 2025 has indicated that a majority of sites have still not seen visitor numbers return to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, that volunteer recruitment remains difficult, and that a record number of sites have closed. The survey of industrial heritage organisations was carried out by the industrial Heritage Survey project during the regional industrial heritage network meetings run as part of the project.
71 industrial heritage organisations attended 10 in-person regional network meetings between June and December 2025. All the organisations reported an increase in visitor numbers, but a majority reported that these numbers had not returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. This trend was noted in the wider museum sector in England, in the Annual Museum Survey undertaken by Museum Development England with support from Arts Council England. Worryingly, 2025 saw a rise in industrial museum closures to eight sites, compared to 2024, a record number of closures since the project started tracking these in 2020, with industrial sites being particularly vulnerable to closure compared to the wider museum sector.
Furthermore, industrial heritage sites reported that the recruitment of volunteers remained difficult for many sites, although numbers a majority of sites have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, a trend in line with the Annual Musuem Survey. All the industrial heritage organisations attending the regional network meetings noted that the continuing rise in the costs of fuel, heating, and maintenance was putting a strain on day-to-day finances and reserves.
Industrial Heritage Networks 