OPTION 1

Closure apart from special events

OPTION 2

Opening 2 days a week with fewer staff at reduced hours

OPTION 3

Annualised hours equivalent to opening 3 days a week

OPTION 4

Annualised hours equivalent to opening 4 days week

Pro

Achieves significant savings

Achieves significant savings

Achieves significant savings

Achieves sufficient savings such that in conjunction with a new admission charge, the reduction in museum cost is significant

Maintains some access to collections

Maintains regular access to collections

Maintains regular access to collections

Maintains regular access to collections

Accreditation loss would be reversable

Accreditation loss would be reversable

Accreditation loss would be reversable

Accreditation would be retained

A level of staff expertise and skills retained

A level of staff expertise and skills retained

A greater level of staff expertise and skills retained

Ability to provide some events for children and adults

Ability to provide a comprehensive events programme for children and adults

Ability to offer a scaled-back schools service

Ability to offer a schools service broadly similar to that offered currently

Ability to offer Temporary Exhibitions Programme

Ability to offer Temporary Exhibitions Programme

Clear message for residents

Con

Loss of service in almost its entirety

Skeleton service providing access to building for visitors and limited back of house functions

Much reduced service providing access for visitors and some activities/events

Some reduction in service providing access and some activities and events

Loss of staff skills and expertise in not only collections care and exhibitions but in providing a service for residents and communities

Loss of skills and expertise through likely departure of existing staff.

Loss of skills and expertise through likely departure of existing staff.

Loss of skills and expertise through likely departure of existing staff less likely than option 3

Risk to collections from incomplete research and cataloguing (e.g. inability to prove ownership of items which were received up to 170 years ago or failure to discover information which makes item especially relevant to residents)

Work on museum collections, the service’s Unique Selling Point would be reduced to minimal caretaking and recording

Work on museum collections, the service’s Unique Selling Point would be reduced to minimal caretaking and recording.

Loss of all income generating ability

Income generating capacity in shop, room hire and parties etc greatly reduced

Income generating capacity in shop, room hire and parties etc greatly reduced

Income generating capacity in shop, room hire and parties etc reduced

Loss of schools’ service

Loss of schools’ service except for pre-recorded video

Loss of schools’ service except for pre-recorded video and current collection of loan boxes

Slight reduction in schools’ service

Need to renegotiate licence of room by Kent Archaeological Society

Need to renegotiate licence of room by Kent Archaeological Society

Need to renegotiate licence of room by Kent Archaeological Society

N/A

Impossible to deliver 20 Year Plan agreed by members in 2018

Impossible to deliver 20 Year Plan agreed by members in 2018

Impossible to deliver 20 Year Plan agreed by members in 2018

Impossible to deliver 20 Year Plan agreed by members in 2018

Severe reputational damage among residents, press and wider museum sector after positioning the museum as the de facto County Museum for many years

N/A

N/A

N/A

Potential reclaim of grants totalling £2.07m from the then Heritage Lottery Fund

N/A

N/A

N/A

Loss of volunteer programme

Loss of volunteer programme

There would be little or no capacity for remaining staff to manage volunteers

There would be reduced capacity for remaining staff to manage volunteers

Loss of Health and Wellbeing programmes with residents which have generally been delivered as projects on top of regular operations

Loss of Health and Wellbeing programmes with residents

Loss of Health and Wellbeing programmes with residents

Loss of Health and Wellbeing programmes with residents