Agenda item

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE CULTURE AND FACILITIES SERVICE MANAGER

An Information Note on the Museum Collection Facility Project in response to a request for a progress update.

Councillor Tamsin Thomas, as Executive Member for Enterprise presented the Information Note entitled ‘Museum Collection Facility Update’, following which Members asked questions.

Audio recording – 2 hours 17 minutes 57 seconds

Councillor Tamsin Thomas, as Executive Member for Enterprise presented the Information Note entitled ‘Museum Collection Facility Update’ and advised that:

·                There had been a need to address the long-term future of the museum collection facility.

·                Members who had not already visited the existing facility were invited to do so.

·                Failure to provide an adequate facility for the Museum collection would affect the accreditation of North Herts Museum and its ability to operate.

·                The majority of the Museum collection was not currently on public display.

·                Pressure on the existing facility would only increase as the Museum was the designated receiver for any finds in the district resulting from excavation, which would increase due to the surge in development arising from the Local Plan. 

·                The project had been delayed repeatedly at some cost. However, the acquisition of the new facility had been secured for significantly less than the £4M capital budget.

·                A Project Board had been formed to oversee the project, which would be managed in line with the standard project management methodology.

·                The facility would safeguard the accreditation of the Museum as well as the collection itself once complete.

·                The purchase of the new facility took place in July 2025, and the lease to the current tenants had been extended to ensure the Council would receive an income stream while plans for the new facility were made.

·                A summer exhibition had been held by the Museum to showcase artifacts in storage at the existing collection facility. Additionally, a monthly series had been launched in December to highlight more items in storage.

·                A positive response had been received to an expression of interest on grant funding that would assist outreach efforts.

·                Advanced negotiations were ongoing with a contractor that would provide Professional Technical Services to carry out the design work for the new facility.

·                Project progress had been shown in the Gantt Chart displayed in Appendix 1 to the Information Note.

·                Investigations into the moving process of the Museum collection were already underway, including an ascension strategy that would cover the addition and removal of collection artifacts as the collection was moved.

The following Members asked questions:

·                Councillor Ralph Muncer

·                Councillor Paul Ward

·                Councillor Jon Clayden

In response to questions, Councillor Tamsin Thomas advised that:

·                Unlike the project at Harkness Court, this capital project had a Project Board with the Culture and Facilities Service Manager as the Project Manager and the Director – Enterprise as the Accountable Officer.

·                Grant funding available was linked to public engagement projects which would present an opportunity for them to maximise public engagement through increasing awareness of the Museum, strengthening outreach to schools, and building their volunteer network.

·                There were no concerns that Local Government Reorganisation would affect the project if its delivery remained on schedule. However, if enough progress had not been made, there would be concerns over the facility being redeployed to address other storage needs, subject to the decisions of the subsequent unitary authority.

In response to questions, the Culture and Facilities Service Manager advised that:

·                The estimated cost of a long-leasehold at £2.5M – £2.7M had been correct.

·                The capital budget for the project had been reduced to £3M and unforeseen costs in the design stage might cause the project to exceed this, but equally, savings might also be made to keep it within budget or take it below.

·                The Design Team would be responsible for producing the technical specifications for the new facility which would inform the construction and renovation phase of the project. The timeline on this was unconfirmed but if any progress on this was made before the next Committee meeting, it could be presented with the Enterprise Portfolio Update.

·                Baseline project funding would guarantee the safeguarding of the collection from the existing facility to the new one, and any grant funding would help them to maximise the community and outreach benefits of the project.

In response to questions, the Director – Resources advised that there were intentions to place the project onto the Council Delivery Plan, therefore, Members would receive quarterly updates on the project and further update requests could be made by the Committee if necessary.

Councillor David Chalmers noted that it was encouraging to see plans for the new facility to be used as an asset to engage the community.

The Chair thanked Councillor Tamsin Thomas and the Culture and Facilities Service Manager for their verbal presentation.