Reduced hours for libraries and museums considered

Reducing the opening hours of libraries and museums is being considered by a council to cut costs.

Wakefield Council said the change would mean venues opening slightly later or earlier to try and minimise the impact on visitors.

Hannah Appleyard, the council's cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport said the authority needed to "make some changes to help us deliver a balanced budget".

Two surveys asking residents how they use the facilities will run until 14 March, before a final decision is made by councillors.

The authority said it had to review the opening hours "as the funding we're receiving from the government isn't keeping up with how much it costs to run the services".

One survey is focused on library services and asks how often people visit, what time of day they go, why they visit the library and which of the districts libraries they use most often.

The second survey focuses on the council's three museums and Pontefract Castle and asks how many times residents have visited any of them in the last year, which they have visited most often and what time of day the visit took place.

Appleyard said: "We know that our libraries, museums and castles are used and enjoyed by so many people.

"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 said they had suggested changes which they believed would have the least impact but hey really wanted to hear the views of people who use "these sites regularly".

In October Wakefield Council confirmed it faced a £88m budget deficit over the next five years.

Wakefield Council's Labour leader Denise Jeffrey said the authority would face "tough decisions" over services as it attempted to plug a shortfall of £33.8m in the next financial year alone.