Why Hartlepool's National Museum of the Royal Navy did not reopen on Super Saturday

Museums, galleries and heritage attractions were among the list of places that could reopen from Saturday, July 4, with the further easing of the lockdown, but Hartlepool's National Museum of the Royal Navy remains temporarily closed.

Managers for the museum, which also has sites in at Portsmouth, Gosport, Belfast and Yeovilton, say they will need to spend money to abide by government guidelines to reopen to reduced numbers of visitors.

It says the lockdown has put an “extraordinary strain” on finances with income down a massive 85% and the vast majority of staff being furloughed.

And despite the government's announcement of almost £1.6 billion to support the arts and culture, the museum does not know if it is eligible for a share of the funding.

At the same time, the museum has appealed to the Ministry of Defence and navy for extra support.

A spokesperson for the National Museum of the Royal Navy said: “In common with many museums the closure of the NMRN has put an extraordinary strain on our finances with a loss of 81% of our income.

“We know that we must incur additional costs to meet the standards required to reopen and that we need to bring back some of the 85% of staff who have been furloughed.

“We also know that the number of visitors we are able to admit whilst adhering to guidelines is reduced and therefore must balance those costs against the levels of income we hope to generate.”

Government guidance for the safe reopening of museums includes visitors potentially having to book for certain times, one way routes and spaced queuing systems, and reviewing the use of audio guides and quarantine periods for public handsets.

The museum spokesperson added: “Whilst recent announcements by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are great for the sector as a whole, it is unclear if we NMRN are included as our grant comes from MOD.

“We have been working with MOD and the Navy to outline our case for additional support and are awaiting their feedback.”

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