Entrance fee proposal for Coventry gallery

A funding crisis may mean entry charges for some exhibitions at Coventry's Herbert Art Gallery and redundancies at its History Centre.

The Herbert Trust, which runs the site, said it faced a shortfall in funding from Coventry City Council.

It said the council had told the gallery and Coventry Transport Museum to save £130,000 over two years.

The trust has proposed charging for exhibitions and reducing opening hours. The council has declined to comment.

'Challenging times'

Trust chief executive Ludo Keston told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire: "What we are doing, alongside many other galleries in the country, is considering charging for some special exhibitions.

"It may be that during the year ahead we introduce charging to see how it goes for one exhibition."

The gallery hosts four visiting exhibitions a year from museums such as the Victoria and Albert, and it is only to these that any charges would apply.

Other proposals are a reduction in weekday opening by one hour, and up to two redundancies at the trust's History Centre.

Another spokesman for the trust said: "It is possible one or two redundancies may be offered at the History Centre.

"All staff are being kept fully aware of the proposals. We are in challenging financial times, like everyone else, and we are trying to act responsibility."