YORK Minster is set to undergo a restructuring process, which could lead to redundancies within the organisation.

The Chapter of York sent a letter to staff last Friday (24 July) to communicate the first steps in how it might restructure parts of the organisation, in response to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Minster closed its doors to worshippers and sightseeing visitors on March 16, due to new Government guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.

Despite having now reopened, the closure has had a "huge financial impact," on the organisation and Chapter is forecasting a shortfall against budget of up to £5.2m in 2020.

A spokesperson for the Minster said: "As part of its measures to safeguard its future, Chapter is now beginning the process to restructure parts of the organisation, and this may lead to redundancies.

"Our first step is to invite nominations to elect employee representatives from affected departments, so we can begin the collective consultation process.

“The letter to staff communicated the first steps so we can begin a consultation process.  Proposals will be announced once the consultation is complete. Staff will be consulted collectively and individually but in order to start this process, we need to elect employee representatives from affected departments.

"We are currently at the proposal stage and won’t know the outcome until we have concluded the collective consultation process.”

The news follows the closure of The Minster School last month, due to the financial issues caused by the pandemic.

The school had origins dating back to 627 AD.