Offers fly in to help out at Shugborough
Offers of help are rolling in from people eager to take on volunteer roles at Staffordshire's cash-strapped Shugborough Estate, it emerged today.
Council chiefs say candidates are phoning "on a daily basis" offering to take over work previously carried out by paid employees. A marketing campaign will be launched in January to co-ordinate volunteers and an open day will be held for potential recruits. The council is in talks with unions over proposals to halve the estate's frontline staff in a bid to save around £148,000.
The shake-up will also see the estate close on a Tuesday, traditionally the quietest day of the week, while the season will be shortened by nine days.
The number of staff in the visitor service sector will be slashed from 66 to 32 in the radical cost-cutting restructure. Bosses say they need to cut £246,000 from budgets overall. After announcing the cuts last month the authority confirmed plans to take on scores of unpaid volunteers from next summer.
County councillor Pat Corfield, cabinet member for culture, said people had already started responding to the announcement ahead of the authority's schedule.
Marketing
"We're very keen to involve local people in the running of Shugborough as the estate belongs to everyone in Staffordshire," he said.
"We are getting enquiries on a daily basis about volunteering there. However, we plan to run a marketing campaign in January including an open day where people can come in and have a look around and see what is involved. This is a terrific opportunity for local people to become custodians of our heritage and play an important part in the future of Shugborough."
Unison has warned that visitors will suffer as well as members with the loss of professional and experienced staff.
No full-time workers are due to lose their jobs. The four-week consultation period ends on November 30, with the changes coming into force on March 22 next year.
By Marion Brennan
