Keighley bus museum trust given notice

[Ken H]

Its on Facebook. They have evidently been told to remove their vehicles and stuff from their garage in Keighley.
Hope they find new premises soon.
I wish them well.

Aug 7th event still on BTW

Sorry about the rubbish screen shot. Best i can do on my phone.



Mod note:
Link to Facebook group is here (members only)

Keighley Bus Museum Trust Ltd | Facebook

Keighley Bus Museum Trust was formed to promote the preservation of historic motor buses and trolleybuses and to provide covered accommodation for them as well as allowing public access to view the...

www.facebook.com

 

[Busaholic]

Its on Facebook. They have evidently been told to remove their vehicles and stuff from their garage in Keighley.
Hope they find new premises soon.
I wish them well.

Aug 7th event still on BTW

Sorry about the rubbish screen shot. Best i can do on my phone.

View attachment 115953

Mod note:
Link to Facebook group is here (members only)

Keighley Bus Museum Trust Ltd | Facebook

Keighley Bus Museum Trust was formed to promote the preservation of historic motor buses and trolleybuses and to provide covered accommodation for them as well as allowing public access to view the...

www.facebook.com

Not being on Facebook I'm unable to see anything else, but have they been given a date by which vacant possession must be effected?

 

[Ken H]

Not being on Facebook I'm unable to see anything else, but have they been given a date by which vacant possession must be effected?

sorry. I know nothing above what I posted above. When I find stuff out I will post again here.

 

[SLC001]

Their Facebook page is a private page and although I am on Facebook, I can see nothing unless I join the group. The website is useless too.
My initial reaction is one of sadness but I have been frustrated by the lack of information over the years about this "museum" and its collection. A museum should be open to the public, this one isn't. In fact it appears to be more of a closed shop!
It is very sad that the Trust has not been able to secure long term accommodation and in fact in 2020 they were trying to enlist the support of their local MP to secure long term accommodation and it would appear without success. The current building is dilapidated which partly explains why it cannot open to enthusiasts or visitors but more seriously the trust cannot get access to funds or grants because of their lack of secure accommodation.
This was always going to be a problem and I guess the day of reckoning has arrived. Museums need to be far more professional and I recall another museum that had similar problems and it may have been that one that was described in a TV program as amateurish.

 

[Ken H]

Their Facebook page is a private page and although I am on Facebook, I can see nothing unless I join the group. The website is useless too.
My initial reaction is one of sadness but I have been frustrated by the lack of information over the years about this "museum" and its collection. A museum should be open to the public, this one isn't. In fact it appears to be more of a closed shop!
It is very sad that the Trust has not been able to secure long term accommodation and in fact in 2020 they were trying to enlist the support of their local MP to secure long term accommodation and it would appear without success. The current building is dilapidated which partly explains why it cannot open to enthusiasts or visitors but more seriously the trust cannot get access to funds or grants because of their lack of secure accommodation.
This was always going to be a problem and I guess the day of reckoning has arrived. Museums need to be far more professional and I recall another museum that had similar problems and it may have been that one that was described in a TV program as amateurish.

They do open a few days a year. But they dont have the volunteer base to open more often. But they need to decide if they are a museum or a workshop for restoring and maintaining the old vehicles. There is little to help the visitor know about the buses there. Indeed I use Bus Lists on the Web to find out what the buses are!
But they are a very similar set up to the one at Dewsbury, and even Sandtoft, open a few days a year.
On their open days they always have a few vintage buses offering free trips round Keighley.
They dont own many vehicles - most are owned by individuals who pay a fee to the trust to store their vehicle there.
Buses dont have the following that railways do. Everyone can spot a steam engine. But how many can tell the difference between a 1960's Atlantean and a modern bus? To 99% of people they are just buses. So its always a niche market.

 

[GusB]

I looked up their website (http://www.kbmt.org.uk/) when I was trying to find their Facebook address, and I was rather put off by the fact that I was greeted by a private group, rather than a public Facebook page. Advising people to check Facebook for the latest updates then keeping the updates hidden strikes me as being a bit secretive and unprofessional.

If you want people to support your cause, you make as much information available as possible.

 

[DaveLondon]

I looked up their website (http://www.kbmt.org.uk/) when I was trying to find their Facebook address, and I was rather put off by the fact that I was greeted by a private group, rather than a public Facebook page. Advising people to check Facebook for the latest updates then keeping the updates hidden strikes me as being a bit secretive and unprofessional.

If you want people to support your cause, you make as much information available as possible.

Like an increasing number of Facebook pages they have been moved to "private" to lessen spam postings and idiots. I just joined - no big deal.

 

[Townsend Hook]

There’s no harm in a private ‘group’ but also having a separate ‘page’ (they are two different things) to act as a shopfront and issue updates would go a long way.

 

[Ken H]

There’s no harm in a private ‘group’ but also having a separate ‘page’ (they are two different things) to act as a shopfront and issue updates would go a long way.

they have a website. http://www.kbmt.org.uk/

 

[Deerfold]

they have a website. http://www.kbmt.org.uk/

Which doesn't have much information on it - and rarely posts about events with much notice. I'm local and have an interest in buses and have only visited twice due to poor advance publicity (and a busy life on my part). I'm local enough that until the nearby Dalton Mills burnt down, I used to pass the museum up to 6 times a week.

If go to the Events section of the website, I have to go through 12 screens of information (including several about an event that's happened) before I see the 1 screen about the next event.

It doesn't help that the website seems to use about a dozen different fonts and is littered with spelling mistakes. Some may brush these off as being minor, but they certainly don't help an organisation look professional.

 

[Ken H]

Which doesn't have much information on it - and rarely posts about events with much notice. I'm local and have an interest in buses and have only visited twice due to poor advance publicity (and a busy life on my part). I'm local enough that until the nearby Dalton Mills burnt down, I used to pass the museum up to 6 times a week.

If go to the Events section of the website, I have to go through 12 screens of information (including several about an event that's happened) before I see the 1 screen about the next event.

It doesn't help that the website seems to use about a dozen different fonts and is littered with spelling mistakes. Some may brush these off as being minor, but they certainly don't help an organisation look professional.

For all bus events I ignore individual websites. I just use the excellent list here - http://www.classicbuses.co.uk/events.html

(Link goes to a list of bus events in 2022.)

 

[Deerfold]

For all bus events I ignore individual websites. I just use the excellent list here - http://www.classicbuses.co.uk/events.html

(Link goes to a list of bus events in 2022.)

That does look very useful, but most of the local general public, if they hear about it at all, will go to their website.

 

[Ken H]

The museum is saying on Facebook that the twilight event on 6th November is cancelled. They have not been able to get it cancelled on the Classic Bus website events page.