BOURNEMOUTH’S Russell-Cotes museum and art gallery is going to introduce a permanent summertime entry charge after a trial generated £23,000.

“We are not rolling over and dying with our legs in the air,” said Sue Hayward, the council’s heritage manager.

“We have responded really positively and are taking things forward.”

The Grade II listed building is home to artefacts and artworks bequeathed to Bournemouth by a globetrotting mayor and his wife, but it has faced massive funding cuts.

It is now likely to charge a £5 adult entry from April until September after a three-month trial this summer attracted almost twice as many visitors as predicted.

The trial attracted 8,736 paying customers, and another 3,860 who came to see the free part of the museum and its cafe. The expected total was only 6,700. The number is far down on the same period last year, when 28,393 people came through the doors.

But the entry fee generated £30,264, which more than made up for the decline in donations and expenditure in the shop, generating a £23,000 net profit that will go back into the Russell-Cotes budget.

“This has exceeded our expectations,” Cllr Ian Lancashire, cabinet member for the arts, told the Daily Echo, saying the trial was a “bit of a gamble” but one that had paid off.

The council introduced the fee after a root and branch review in the face of cuts to the £944,000 the museum used to receive a year from various public bodies.

The experimental fees, including Gift Aid, were £5 for an adult, £4 for five to 16-year-olds, £4 concessions, £15 for a family ticket, and £4 per person for pre-booked groups.

Surveys showed 54 per cent of people used Gift Aid and 90 per cent of visitors would recommend the museum to their friends. Voluntary donations were hugely reduced.

Next year’s prices have not yet been agreed but the charging period is likely to be from April until September with the same or similar fees as used this year.

Surveys have found the museum is more popular with tourists than locals. The council said the free entry period over the winter will benefit local residents.

Additional measures to cope with the cuts include staff redundancies, an ‘art on demand’ service, a membership club, and a new programme of evening and special activities.