Alistair Hardaker | Image: The main gallery of the Museum of Oxford (MOX), following the refurbishment completed in 2021
Campaigners claim footfall fell 70-80% after charging began, while donations dropped and non-residents will still pay £4.
Oxford City Council has approved plans to reverse entry fees for local residents at the Museum of Oxford, less than a year after introducing a £4 charge.
Last week the council’s Cabinet agreed to pilot free admission for Oxford City residents. The trial will begin in 2027, and will require proof of residency.
The decision follows a campaign by local group ‘Save Our Museum’, which describes itself as local Oxford residents who oppose the entry fee.
The group’s petition, calling for the museum to stay free, gathered more than 2,700 signatures.
The group claims that since the introduction of entry fees, footfall is down 70-80% on 2024-25, citing a Freedom of Information request.
The ‘Save Our Museum’ group’s website describes the fee’s introduction as “a massive mistake”.
The cabinet also approved in principle continuing free resident entry from 1 April 2027, subject to the necessary budget being agreed in the council’s 2027/28 budget-setting process.
Visitors from outside the city will continue to pay the £4 fee. The £4 charge was approved by Cabinet in October 2025 and introduced on 26 January 2026. The museum, which reopened in 2021 after a £2.8m redevelopment, had previously been free.
The museum recorded about £4,986 in donations in 2025/26, compared with £265 between April and August 2026.
The council’s MOX Business Plan update 2026–2029 says charging “may have reduced the willingness of some visitors to make voluntary donations”.
Alongside the resident pilot, Cabinet approved a Friends, Patrons and Corporate Sponsorship scheme, launching in November with a first-year income target of £12,000. A relaunched Adopt an Object programme has an annual target of £2,300.
