A politician is calling for free entry to Jersey Museum to be reinstated after the government-backed trial attracted almost twice as many visitors as the previous year before the nearly half-a-million funding was withdrawn.
Deputy Montfort Tadier told Express he wanted to see the government-backed scheme retained after questioning the new Economic Development Minister, Gerald Voisin, on whether the trial could be picked back up in the States Assembly this week.
Free entry to the museum, which was supported through government funding to compensate for the loss of admissions income to the value of £497,000, was introduced in July 2024 and ended at the start of this month.
To say that our national museum is free to go in, whether you are a local or a visitor, that is a really good thing for Jersey Heritage and the wider economy. The question then is going to be around the cost to the public purse
Deputy Montfort Tadier
This was despite Jersey Heritage describing it as a “big success”, noting that visitor figures to the site stood at 41,075 for the first year of free entry compared to 20,822 in the 12 months before the scheme began.
Amy Hall, chair of the Jersey Heritage Board of Trustees, stated at the time that the government was unable to continue supporting the initiative due to “well-publicised funding pressures”.
In a recent written question to Deputy Voisin, Deputy Tadier asked whether the minister viewed the trial as successful and if so, would he “commit to undertaking the necessary conversations with Jersey Heritage” to continue it.
Deputy Voisin said he had “not yet had an opportunity to meet with Jersey Heritage to discuss their evaluation of the trial and whether it met its intended objectives” but that he looked forward to doing so “in the near future”.
“This decision will need to take into consideration both the evaluation of the trial and the costs of continuing this policy,” the minister added.
He highlighted that “any decision to provide free admission on a permanent basis must be balanced against affordability, value for money and other funding priorities within the arts, culture and heritage 1% envelope”.
Speaking to Express, Deputy Tadier – who has previously sought to defend arts, culture and heritage funding – contended that the free entry was “worth retaining” because it offered a lot of “fringe benefits”, including its appeal to UK tourists.
He added: “To say that our national museum is free to go in, whether you are a local or a visitor, that is a really good thing for Jersey Heritage and the wider economy. The question then is going to be around the cost to the public purse.”
Deputy Tadier noted that the scheme’s potential return would likely have to be subject to negotiations between government and Jersey Heritage, which “need to be seen in the context of any memorandum of understanding or service level agreement between the two”.
He also highlighted the negative side effects of “chopping and changing all the time”, with regard to those who may have heard entry to the museum was free visiting the island only to discover this was no longer the case.
