Tredegar House
Failure To Attract Visitors Targeted
‘The Very Worst of Times’
By William Cross, FSA Scot
Author of books on The Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales
COVID 19 -Hit Tredegar House closed but the National Trust were staring at failure before the pandemic
Newport has one of the highest number of COVID 19 infections in the whole of Wales. This ghastly virus has taken many lives, it remains in free fall and a vaccine is still a far off dream. The deadly spread and aftermath of the infection’s invisible power makes this a frightening era for all.
Tredegar House, the old Morgan mansion, was closed for many months under the first Welsh government virus lockdown of March 2020, and although there was a brief reopening in September- early October 2020, albeit with restrictions on the numbers of visitors, the house has closed again. This closure was to avoid virus transmission to National Trust staff and those members of the public who wished to go and see the Morgan’s old homestead and enjoy it’s history, stories and relax or walk around the parklands, lake and gardens.
Post-virus, it is going to be a slow recovery and a very costly one. In fact the world has changed so much by the affects of the virus that the good old joys of carefree days out and day in at places of “Historic Interest or Natural Beauty” are on a slippery slope to oblivion and our thinking and actions may have to change in every form and have less expectation.
Organisations that aim to preserve the past (i.e. in Wales) like the National Trust and CADW [i] are in deep financial peril too, with redundancies afoot, and they are perhaps doomed to ever bounce back or be able to offer the same pleasures or value for money. The heritage bodies will need to fall heavily upon virtual tours of sites. The staff and many volunteers at work in places like Tredegar House may never return in the same numbers or roles. The virus will be feared for years.
Are Newport’s Payments to the National Trust in 2022 moneys worth?
It is an opportune time to reflect on the 8 years of management of Tredegar House by the National Trust and ( looking ahead) question the ‘money’s worth’ of the National Trust pocketing (on 1 April 2022) the further sum of £2,004,750 ( ie over 2 million pounds) from Newport City Council as a residual part of the 2012 transfer deal/lease.
This huge payment in 2022 from Newport’s coffers is no April fool.
Would that money or any part of it be better spent on Newport itself? In these chilling times should Newport Council not first and foremost support the City’s present and future, the colossal needs, pre-virus vaccine and in treating the wounds of a post-virus world?
Is it time to try to negotiate, defer or cancel this payment to the National Trust, due in 2022, especially as Newport’s citizens are in the throws of a desperate situation, with many people condemned to years of uncertainty, recession, unemployment, ill health and misery.
It must be right to say ( albeit I say it with sadness as a local historian and devotee of the Morgan family) that the City’s own people, infrastructures, services, and needs over the next few years must be sorted first, even if at the expense of maintaining the area’s historic heritage, legacies and monuments. The same applies to funds earmarked for our historical icons the Museums, Newport Castle, the Transporter Bridge etc, people’s welfare surely must come first.
But can the Lease Agreement between Newport Council and the National Trust be revisited?
The Freedom of Information Act Will Out
It is a curious fact that although the National Trust was set up by statute from 1907 onwards and has powers to make by- laws , the Freedom of Information Act, 2000, (FOI) exempts them from scrutiny or of requiring them to make any public disclosures about their workings and decisions. However in the case of Tredegar House’s lease some secrets can be culled as Newport Council does come under the FOI legislation.
Visitor Numbers to Tredegar House
When the National Trust took over the running of Tredegar House in 2012, one of their primary gaols was to build up the annual number of visitors to a target of over 120,000.
Using the FOI, Newport Council has revealed to the Author the previously well guarded figures of actual attendance at Tredegar House for the past 7 years. [ii]
2013/14 57,280
2014/15 78,984
2015/16 90,285
2016/17 94,850
2017/18 88,309
2018/19 81,377
2019/20 89,234
As disclosed by the Author in 2017, [iii] the 2012 Lease Agreement between the Council and National Trust ( with some £10m being payable between 2012 and 2062) provided additionally for the sum of £150,000 per annum to be paid to the National Trust as a “ Revenue Subsidy” for as long as visitor numbers at Tredegar House fell below 120,000 per annum.
As the figures here show the National Trust started well but on the face of it have failed to pursue an agenda with a sufficiently successful mix of attractions, or prove the worth of their house management decisions at winning increased support in public attendance. There is a repeated failure to capture a clear increase in the number of visitors in ANY of the last 3 years compared with the best year, over 4 years ago.
The rot was there long before the current pandemic. The National Trust management have not fulfilled their strategic goal over visitor numbers. They will perhaps say in defence that in these past years conservation projects, as with the fixing a new roof, came first. But the fact is they reached a plateau for visitor attendance in 2016/17 and this was far below the strategic figure planned of 120,000.
It is interesting that given the question above about the 2012 Lease Agreement being revisited or changed that it does look like that this can be done and it has already been re-negotiated.
According to the FOI Officer’s reply at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season, Newport Council and National Trust agreed a settlement figure to fully discharge the obligation of the £150,000 per annum ‘Revenue Subsidy’ regarding visitor numbers.
The FOI reply adds “ The arrangement was due to expire in 2025 in any case and the stabilisation of visitor numbers at a sub 100k level meant it was unlikely that the 120k target would be reached before the payment arrangement terminated.”
So what was the settlement figure – Who benefits?
The FOI response was as follows “ The Council was obligated to 5 more years of payments of £150k per year (£750k) while visitor numbers remained below 120k. The Council and National Trust agreed a settlement of the outstanding payments with a discount of 1 year's payment (£600k).” [iv]
This substantial cost to Newport Council appears to be is a very nice gift for the National Trust to pocket when the country was on the verge of a further national lockdown. That such a large sum should be removed from Newport coffers cannot benefit Newport citizens when Tredegar House’s future stands out as being uncertain as are other Welsh visitor attractions in the pre-vaccine era.
[i] Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, so that the public can visit them, enjoy them and understand their significance.
[ii] REQ08381 - Newport Council Payments to the National Trust at Tredegar House, Newport.
[iii] See “Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar: ‘Lord of the Lies’”. Book Midden Publishing (2017).
[iv] Reply to Freedom of Information Request REQ08448. NB Newport Council later advised: “The final settlement payment was confirmed as received by National Trust on 9th of April 2020. Please note that the attached letter refers to a final payment of 750k which included the payment due 1st of March 2020. This had already been processed therefore the final payment received by the National Trust in April was £600k.” FOI REQ08496. Letter referred to held by the Author. Copy available on request.
" Visitor Attendance at Tredegar House 2012-2020."
“More Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar
‘Lord of the Lies’ As seen by friends, foes and lovers ”
A new book about Evan Morgan, the last Viscount Tredegar was published on 9 November 2020.
