Edinburgh Zoo faces drastic cuts after visitor slump

Published on Sunday 31 October 2010 18:24

THE boss of one of Scotland's best-known visitor attractions has admitted it has "no option" but to slash its running costs in the wake of a dramatic slump in visitors.

• David Windmill, the head of Edinburgh Zoo Picture: Ian Georgeson

Edinburgh Zoo's chief executive has warned it will have to making major savings by the end of the year to stave off a financial crisis.

David Windmill has denied claims from worried staff that the attraction is in danger of going into administration and that management have ordered the 250-strong workforce to take a pay cut.

But he has conceded that the zoo is expected to make a significant loss at the end of the current financial year, even taking into account a widespread cost-cutting programme, which has put dozens of jobs at risk.

Mr Windmill revealed that a drop in visitor numbers of about 60,000 - almost 10 per cent of last year's total - was expected to cost the attraction almost 1 million. He said the zoo's relatively small cash reserves of just 2 million meant it was being forced to scale back important conservation and education projects.

Mr Windmill said the number of jobs to go over the next few months would be "nowhere near" the 50 figure quoted in recent reports.

But other emergency measures which have been ordered include closing a flagship exotic birds enclosure, charging members of the society to park at the attraction and cutting back on marketing campaigns. Some animals, Red River hogs, have been culled after being declared surplus to requirements.

The attraction, which dates back to 1913, is run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a registered charity, which receives no public subsidy to keep the zoo running.

Mr Windmill said the zoo was taking the kind of action which many other visitor attractions would have to consider in the next few years because of the economic downturn and the impact of spending cuts. It emerged at the weekend that the National Galleries of Scotland and National Museums of Scotland may be forced to introduce admission charges. Culture minister Fiona Hyslop told the Scottish Parliament that spending pressures may lead to long-running free entry policies being "assessed".

There is understood to be mounting discontent among the workforce at the zoo, which is based at Corstorphine Hill, in west Edinburgh, about the impact of the cutbacks.

More than 636,000 people visited the school last year, but a 60,000 drop is projected, largely blamed on bad weather in July and a drop in visitor numbers at similar attractions across the UK.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, told The Scotsman: "As it stands at the moment, we still have jobs and an income and most people working here understand times are hard.But the message has gone out to staff that if this action is not taken now the zoo could go into administration in the near future."

Mr Windmill said: "We simply cannot afford to have the running costs of an attraction with 650,000 visitors a year, like we had two years ago, when we are only attracting 575,000 visitors.

"Our staff make up around 54 per cent of the zoo's running costs, but you only have to do the maths about the impact a 60,000 drop in visitors will have if you estimate that they will each spend 15-a-head here.

"We have got to try to balance the budget. We have absolutely no option over it, because we have so little cash reserves.It would be wrong for us not to do so, although no-one has been talking about administration."

Local councillor Paul Edie, a Liberal Democrat, said: "This kind of situation is obviously very worrying for the staff involved and is also affecting a lot of other charities and voluntary organisations at the moment."