Wakefield Council reviews operating hours for libraries and museums

A local council is evaluating a proposal to shorten the opening hours of its libraries and museums as a measure to reduce expenditures. Wakefield Council indicated that this adjustment would involve facilities commencing operations marginally later or earlier, aiming to lessen the effect on patrons. Hannah Appleyard, the council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure, and sport, stated that the authority needed to “make some changes to help us deliver a balanced budget”. Prior to councillors reaching a conclusive decision, two surveys designed to gather information from residents about their usage of these facilities will be conducted until March 14. The authority explained its necessity to review operating hours, stating that “as the funding we’re receiving from the government isn’t keeping up with how much it costs to run the services”. One of the surveys specifically addresses library services, inquiring about visit frequency, typical visit times, reasons for visiting, and which of the district’s libraries are most frequently utilized. The second survey targets the council’s three museums and Pontefract Castle, gathering data on the number of resident visits to any of these sites in the past year, which site was visited most frequently, and the time of day visits occurred. Appleyard commented: “We know that our libraries, museums and castles are used and enjoyed by so many people.” She continued: “Although we need to make some changes to help us deliver a balanced budget, it is important to us to ensure we can keep running these services now and into the future.” She mentioned that the proposed changes were thought to have minimal impact, but emphasized the desire to gather feedback from individuals who use “these sites regularly”. Wakefield Council previously confirmed in October that it was confronting an £88m budget deficit spanning the subsequent five years. Denise Jeffrey, the Labour leader of Wakefield Council, stated that the authority would encounter “tough decisions” regarding services while endeavoring to address a £33.8m deficit in the upcoming financial year alone.