HUNDREDS of job cuts at the National Trust (NT) will put the safeguarding of Britain's heritage at risk, Prospect union warned today.

The conservation charity has informed staff that it will cut 6 per cent of its 11,000-strong workforce — the equivalent of 550 full-time jobs.

Launching a 45-day consultation, it said that the cuts aims to save £26m after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spring budget led to a more than £10m rise in costs in employer’s national insurance and the minimum wage in April.

The National Trust looks after 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, as well as 780 miles of coastline and 250,000 hectares of land.

Prospect deputy general secretary Steve Thomas said: “At a time when Prospect members at the NT are hard at work welcoming the public to Britain’s historic venues over the busy summer months, this news will cause huge uncertainty and worry for staff.

“We understand the cost pressures the trust is facing but management decisions, as well as external factors, have contributed to the financial situation and once again it is our members who will have to pay the price.

“Our members are custodians of the country’s cultural, historic and natural heritage — cuts of this scale risk losing institutional knowledge and skills which are vital to that mission.

“Prospect will be working with NT to try to minimise the negative impact of these cuts on both workers and on the operation of the trust.”

The NT said in a statement: “Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations; increasing costs are outstripping this growth.”

The cuts are to affect front-line roles including staff working in cafes and shops, as well as conservation assistants who carry out preservation work in historic buildings.