Locals react to takeover of Ironbridge museums

Steve Green manages The Coracle Micropub

"There are a lot of members of the National Trust who don't know where Ironbridge is, so I think the addition of the museums will make it a destination, hopefully."

Steve Green, bar manager of The Coracle Micropub in Ironbridge, is one of many locals reacting to the news that the National Trust will be taking over the running of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust's sites.

This includes its 10 museums and 35 listed buildings and scheduled monuments.

"I think it will widen the audience of people coming to Ironbridge, which should bring more customers in," added Mr Green.

Karen Davies, the interim chief executive officer of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust, said the last five years had been "very difficult" and visitor numbers "were just not returning to pre-Covid levels".

Jeremy Thomas, from the Ironbridge Traditional Sweet Shop, said the takeover was good news for the town.

Jeremy Thomas from the Ironbridge Traditional Sweet Shop

"It's going to preserve the buildings... that's the most important thing, and it's going to give security to the site as well," he told the BBC.

"There's been a lot of business movement in the town; people have left, and there have been empty shops for periods of time.

"At the moment most of them are full, but that's because people have been making a few investments in it in the hope that things were going to improve, and I think this will reinforce that and make it better."

Victoria Nieman stays in Ironbridge every year

"I think it's interesting if they're going to keep it nice and keep up with the upkeep and publicise it for lots of people," said Victoria Nieman, 55, who lives in Germany but stays in Ironbridge every year.

"Let's hope that they keep the entrance fees either free or low for everybody and that it's accessible for everybody and not just for the elite," she said.

There has been no confirmation on admission fees when the sites come under National Trust ownership. Prices vary at the trust's properties across the country.

"I hope that it brings in more tourism because we noticed in just a year the number of businesses that are closing down, or on the border of closing down, has really increased, and that's quite sad to see because here's beautiful and more people should come," added Ms Nieman.

Rod Shephard from the Ironbridge Pop-Up Gallery raises concerns about staffing levels after the takeover

Rod Shepard from the Ironbridge Pop-Up Gallery said he was a National Trust member, and was impressed at its work at Attingham Park in Shrewsbury.

"My concern would be how the current staff of the museum are treated, I don't know if the current staffing levels will be kept," he said.

Ms Davies at the Ironbridge trust said it was too early to talk about the impact on jobs, but in the short term all employees would move over to the National Trust when the takeover is completed in the spring.

"We haven't started to discuss operational plans with the National Trust," she added.