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Belfast Cathedral To Charge Visitors

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Belfast Cathedral To Charge Visitors

Just another historical building in economical distress: Saint Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast has considered charging visitors with an entrance fee in order to cover its yearly running costs. According to the Dean of Belfast the Very Reverend John Mann, the upkeep of cathedral requires a daily input of £1,000, which results in a projected deficit of £30,000 for the next financial year. In addition to the car parking fee, which accounts for half of the cathedral’s income, the community is constantly looking for new income streams. Currently visitors are asked for a voluntary donation of £2.50 per person. However, the average donation received is only about 30p, and therefore, according to Dean Mann, it might be necessary to consider a visitors’ fee. Saint Anne’s Cathedral may now ask tour operators to include a fee as part of their overall charges for people who visit Belfast. Although Saint Anne’s is one of the most important venues of civic and religious life in Belfast, it has a comparatively small parish congregation to contribute to the running costs. However, Dean Mann assured regular visitors of Saint Anne’s that special consideration will be given to them: “We are still considering all the options but there is no way that we are going to charge the people of Belfast who want to come in to their own cathedral.”

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