National Trust faces £200m loss as it reveals its properties are unlikely to reopen until autumn due to coronavirus pandemic
- The conservation charity’s houses have been shut across the UK since March 20
- The number of cancelled memberships soars as the trust eyes up cash reserves
- Boss tells MPs trust is ‘desperate to open’ as soon as it is deemed safe to do so
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
National Trust properties are unlikely to reopen this summer, with the charity facing up to a £200 million loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Director general Hilary McGrady admitted yesterday that while parks and gardens will be first to reopen, the trust’s houses, which have all been shut since March 20, may not be available again before late August.
The number of cancelled memberships has soared as the charity is now looking to try and access its cash reserves of £1.3 billion, which are subject to restrictions, according to The Times.
National Trust properties such as Chartwell, pictured, home to Winston Churchill, are not likely to reopen this summer
She said the trust is ‘desperate to open’ as soon as it is safe to do so, saying such spaces are important for the nation’s mental wellbeing.
She told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee: ‘Our members want us to be open, but they do want us to open safely. And we will do this in a really controlled and careful way, that’s why we’ve introduced the booking system.
‘But it is incredibly important just for, apart from anything else, the mental wellbeing of the nation that they can get out, and access places like the National Trust.
‘We offer incredibly safe spaces for people to be able to visit and just, you know, have a bit of space and have access to nature and we think it’s really important to get doing that sooner rather than later.’
It comes as a top tourism boss suggested an extra bank holiday in October could help revive Britain’s tourism industry from the huge loss suffered during the pandemic.
Patricia Yates, who heads Visit Britain, told MPs the industry had lost £37billion in trade since lockdown began and an additional day off would ‘stimulate demand when it is possible to travel’.
Lytes Cary Manor and estate in Somerset, pictured, is one of the many National Trust properties that has been shut since March
The closure of National Trust sites like Bodnant Gardens, pictured, means the charity is facing a £200m loss
The country has already spent three bank holiday days in lockdown, including two at Easter and one earlier this month, which was moved to May 8 to mark VE Day’s 75th anniversary.
Downing Street said Boris Johnson would consider the idea but warned that extra bank holidays ‘do come with economic costs’ as Ms Yates admitted that ‘every time we do the modelling [on the impact of the pandemic], the figures get worse’.
Government estimates suggest each bank holidays costs the economy £2.3billion, while some business groups suggest the figure could be as high as £6billion.
Director general Hilary McGrady, pictured, said the trust is ‘desperate to open’ as soon as it is safe to do so, saying such spaces are important for the nation’s mental wellbeing
The extra bank holiday in 2012, to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, is said to have cost somewhere between £1.2bn and £3.6bn, according to the government.
The call for an October bank holiday comes as Britons face a summer without holidays abroad and uncertainty over when lockdown restrictions will be lifted.
Some critics have rubbished the idea, with millions of workers having been furloughed for almost two months following the coronavirus outbreak.
Labour peer, Lord Andrew Adonis, who said on Twitter: ‘Why do we want another bank holiday this year? Too little inactivity isn’t this year’s problem.’