Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Cllr Andy Martin.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 2 June 2025.

The minutes of previous meeting were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair stated that since the election of chair of the meeting his term as chair was extended beyond the usual 2 terms due to externalisation that was not completed at that point which enabled continuity until vesting day.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public issues.

The Museum has had another successful 6 month period (1 April – 30 September 2025).  After a slow start to the season, the summer has been extremely busy due to the popularity of the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Award exhibition throughout the house and the ‘May Morris: Art and Advocacy’ exhibition in the main galleries. The café has benefited from the good weather attracting visitors to the terrace and garden.

The Museum’s accreditation review has been completed by the Arts Council England and been awarded full accreditation.

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

The Museum had another successful 6 month period (1 April – 30 September 2025) income was up 5% and expenditure was also up.  After a slow start to the season, the summer was extremely busy due to the popularity of the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Award exhibition throughout the house and the ‘May Morris: Art and Advocacy’ exhibition in the main galleries. The café benefited from the good weather attracting visitors to the terrace and garden.

The museum was concerned about fires on the cliffs and bush fires on the cliff paths.  There was water coming through the roof to various areas and caused damage, there was a MEND 4 project which would provide money for repairs.

Funding was received from Bournemouth Civic Society for the children’s pavilion and additional funding was being sought for this also.

The Museum’s accreditation review was completed by the Arts Council England and been awarded full accreditation.

The programme of events was varied at the museum. Museum Manager arranged a date to meet with the organiser of a celebration of culture exhibition to arrange a date for October 26.

RESOLVED that

The Management Committee accepts the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum Update Report  for the period 1 April – 30 September 2025.

Voting: Unanimous

To note the new acquisitions to the Collection (material owned and held in trust by the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum charity in accordance with its charitable objectives) and the loan of material to other institutions (ie public art galleries and museums) and to approve the disposal of items in the Collection which do not meet the Museum’s Core Offer in accordance with the Museums Association Code of Ethics.

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

There were a collection of paintings that were poor quality that the museum wanted to dispose of.  It was suggested that they could be offered to anyone who wanted them or could be auctioned off. It was suggested that they were offered to a care home or sold in the cafe instead of just being thrown away. Museum manager would consider the suggestion before disposal.

RESOLVED that

The Management Committee notes and approves

a)       acquisitions

b)       loans

c)        disposals

As outlined in the Acquisitions, Loans and Disposals Report

Voting: Unanimous

The Russell-Cotes has received £1,500,817 from ACE MEND 4, which together with £359,317 of match funding from CIL and legacies will provide a total project grant of £1,860,134 to fund major urgent repairs to the Russell-Cotes building, services and interiors.

Payment conditions have now been met to enable the first instalment to be paid.  Conservation architects, Purcell have been appointed after an open tender and design work is underway.

The project is due for completion by November 2027.

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

Public Report 

The Russell-Cotes had received £1,500,817 from ACE MEND 4, which together with £359,317 of match funding from CIL and legacies provided a total project grant of £1,860,134 to fund major urgent repairs to the Russell-Cotes building, services and interiors.

Payment conditions had been met to enable the first instalment to be paid.  Conservation architects, Purcell were appointed after an open tender and design work was underway.

The project was due for completion by November 2027.

The first major work to be done was new CCTV, that was out to tender and the work due to start early 2026.

The major work on the façade was due to commence Spring/Summer 26 and the building would be covered in scaffolding for 6 – 8 months.

The Chair informed the committee that the architect appointed for the work by BCP were very professional and things were working well.  The chair was impressed with the representative from Purcell and their understanding of the museums needs.  There were challenges with listed building consent but those were resolved.

RESOLVED that

The Management Committee accepts the report

Voting: Unanimous

The Charity Commission and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have agreed to the Russell-Cotes charity giving Public Notice of the Scheme in the next step of the governance change. DCMS and Charity Commission have indicated that they are working towards a  vesting day of 1 April 2026 but it is subject to parliamentary time.

Other work is being progressed such as arrangements for the transfer of assets, TUPe of staff etc with the new corporate trustee, RCAGM Sole Trustee Ltd.

BCP Council presumed a 1 October 2025 deadline for externalisation which has now been exceeded. Consequently, there is no revenue budget for the museum beyond 30 September 2025 and the council proposes that the lump sum of £2.25million agreed for the new entity to give it time to become financially sustainable, be used from 1 October to fund the Museum’s revenue costs from this point whilst still within the Council.

However, the report outlining the financial deal, which was agreed by Cabinet on 7 February 2024 and by full Council on 20 February 2024 recognised that Vesting Day might be on 1 October 2025 but could take as long as 1 April 2026.

The Board of RCAGM Sole Trustee has expressed its concern at the council’s position that funding should cease and requested a meeting with the Chief Executive to discuss the serious implications of this on the future viability of the externalised museum.

The Director of Customer and Property 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.

This item was taken first at the Chair’s discretion. 

The Charity Commission and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have agreed to the Russell-Cotes charity giving Public Notice of the Scheme in the next step of the governance change. DCMS and Charity Commission have indicated that they are working towards a vesting day of 1 April 2026 but it was subject to parliamentary time.

Other work was being progressed such as arrangements for the transfer of assets, TUPe of staff etc with the new corporate trustee, RCAGM Sole Trustee Ltd.

BCP Council presumed a 1 October 2025 deadline for externalisation which has now been exceeded. Consequently, there was no revenue budget for the museum beyond 30 September 2025 and the council proposed that the lump sum of £2.25million agreed for the new entity to give it time to become financially sustainable, be used from 1 October to fund the Museum’s revenue costs from this point whilst still within the Council.

However, the report outlining the financial deal, which was agreed by Cabinet on 7 February 2024 and by full Council on 20 February 2024 recognised that Vesting Day might be on 1 October 2025 but could take as long as 1 April 2026.

The Board of RCAGM Sole Trustee has expressed its concern at the council’s position that funding should cease and requested a meeting with the Chief Executive to discuss the serious implications of this on the future viability of the externalised museum. It was stated that when the agreement was made it was done so in good faith and the Council position had changed.

The future of the museum being a separate was in doubt with the funding issue as money was needed to complete the externalisation.

RESOLVED that

The Management Committee

a)       note the progress on the Scheme and Order of State

support the request for an urgent meeting for the Chair with the Chief Executive to ensure that the financial agreement made by Council in February 2024 is honoured to ensure the viability and financial sustainability of the Russell-Cotes in the future

The committee added:

It is the collective view of the Management Committee the proposed setting of the RCMAG vestiture budget against the agreed financial settlement was an obligation of the agreement with BCP and was rejected.

Voting: Unanimous

To note the date of the scheduled meeting on 19 January 2026.

The date of the next meeting was, confirmed as Monday 19 January 2026 at 2pm.