South east museums: 39 attractions to remain closed for 2020

Hever Castle, where Anne Boleyn grew up, has lost £2m

One fifth of the South East's museums expect to remain closed to the public until 2021, a BBC survey has found.

In Kent, Sussex and Surrey 83 out of 194 museums were closed in September.

While some have reopened with new rules, 39 museums in the region say they will be closed until next year, the survey also found 15 museums have only partially opened.

Visit Kent's chief executive said the attractions were "a vital part of the Kent visitor economy".

Some museums and exhibitions may have benefitted from the government's Culture Recovery grants, but many businesses and sites stand to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue.

Hever Castle and Gardens in Kent is expected to lose at least £1.2m as a result of lockdown and restrictions put in place.

Its chief executive, Duncan Leslie, said: "It has been a very difficult year."

He said: "The core business of day visitors has performed well considering the restrictions on numbers - wet weather forecasts do, however, dramatically reduce numbers much worse than before," adding that "there are few if any overseas visitors, who tended to come whatever the weather, and group visits are down to less than 10% of what they were."

'Significant impact'

Deirdre Wells, chief executive of Visit Kent, said many museums have suffered due to a cut in the number of people paying on the day for food and drink.

She said: "Culture and Heritage are a vital part of the Kent visitor economy, with many visitors saying it is a key reason for them choosing the destination.

"Although museums have been able to open since July, many are operating a 50% capacity due to social distancing which has a significant impact on revenue - not just ticket sales, but also retail and food and beverage business too."