Earlier this year, the National Trust had hoped to welcome their six millionth member. Now, amid the pandemic, membership cancellation is four times its usual rate.
Unable to open their historic houses until at least August, the trust faces losses of up to £200 million this year alone.
Director general of the trust, Hilary McGrady, has voiced concerns regarding the dramatic increase in membership cancellations and has said that all conservation projects on properties will be postponed until at least March 2021.
In a meeting with MPs on the digital, culture, media and sport select committee yesterday, she said: “The longer you stay closed the harder it is for members to want to maintain their support. What we are watching very closely is the decline in membership . . . Once that declines it is incredibly hard to build up again.”
While she continued that the trust was desperate to reopen their gated properties, parks and gardens, they are not planning on reopening their houses until the end of August. This is also indicative that the trust will not open their cafes and retail outlets until a similar time.
McGrady continued: “It is incredibly important, apart from anything else, for the mental wellbeing of the nation that we get out and access places. We think it is really important to do that sooner rather than later.”
It is expected that there will be considerable redundancies among the 15,000 permanent and temporary employees. The trust has also suspended all acquisitions and flood mitigation projects.
While the trust has some £1.3 billion in reserves, the bulk of these funds are subject to increasingly restrictive covenants in order to prevent their ill use.
Conservative MP, Damian Green, queried why the trust were unable to use these reserves, to which McGrady responded at least two thirds of the funds were “investments put there for a specific use”.
The trust is currently examining whether or not they are able to seek special dispensation from the Charity Commission.
