Leeds City Council is proposing to close Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall to save £160,000 pounds as it faces an unprecedented strain on its finances.
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00:00Leeds City Council is proposing to close Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall to save £160,000
00:07as it faces an unprecedented strain on its finances. Job losses, building closures and
00:12a council tax rise of almost 5% are also being considered by the authority as it looks to
00:18slash more than £100 million from its budget. Council leader James Lewis said visitor numbers
00:23at Abbey House have dwindled in recent years and that sometimes hard choices have to be
00:28made and the Abbey House Museum collection is expected to be made available elsewhere.
00:33The council said the rising cost of placing children in residential care was a drain on
00:37its finances. In Leeds, the annual cost of external residential placements rose by 75%
00:43in the last four years to £119 million this year. The council said it was planning for
00:49the equivalent of 243 full-time job losses and could not rule out compulsory redundancies.
00:55The latest proposals will be discussed on Wednesday 11th December.