Issue - meetings

Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is a registered charity (306288) of which BCP Council is Trustee.

The building and services of the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, which is Grade 2* listed are in desperate need of repair and renewal.  According to a specialist building survey, nearly £4million of work is required in the next 5 years.

The Russell-Cotes has been successful in applying to the MEND (Museums Estates and Development) Fund established by Arts Council England (ACE) specifically to address the backlog of urgent repairs needed in the Museum sector and support environmental and financial sustainability.  

This major investment to carry out urgent capital work including  restoring the conservatory, replacing the end of life Air Handling Units, improving drainage and improving CCTV security will cost £974,000. 

A grant of £518,000 has been awarded by MEND, £30,000 has been fundraised for the conservatory and match funding of £426,000 has been agreed by BCP Council (of which £213,000 is expected to come from £213,000 subject to final approval). 

Preparatory work is well under way with the appointment of lead designers, planning applications formally submitted, preparatory work in progress and legal and financial commitments being progressed.

The work on site is expected to begin in September 2022, in a phased approach so that the museum will remain open to visitors throughout. On site works should be complete by Summer 2023 followed by a period of monitoring and review. The whole project must be complete by 31 March 2025.

The Museum Manager presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'D' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Committee was asked to note the successful application for funding and the progress in the delivery of the ‘Repair and Renewal Project’, and agree to review the Museum’s charges to meet the funding and ongoing maintenance needs.

In response to questioning about the financial arrangement with the Council, it was explained that the Council had agreed to match fund £426K.  £213K would be loaned, with the repayments being an additional burden to the budget, a paper detailing this would be presented at the next meeting.  The interest on the loan was £15K per year, fixed at 3%, for the next 20 years. The allocation of £213k from CIL, was a gift and did not need to be repaid

In response to a question about the outstanding finances, it was advised that the building works had been estimated and would require substantial financial support.  How to attract funding was an ongoing matter.

It was agreed that Maintenance Needs be added to the work programme as a standing item. 

RESOLVED that:

a)     the Committee noted the successful application for funding and the progress in the delivery of the ‘Repair and Renewal Project’; and

b)    The Committee agreed to review the Museum’s charges to meet the funding and ongoing maintenance needs.

Voting: Unanimous