Agenda item

The Council noted that the development of a new museum was a transformational project of substantial cultural impact and influence aimed at making a significant positive contribution to Guildford’s attraction as a place to live, work, play, and be creative.

Since March 2019 when this matter had previously been reported to the Executive, work had continued to refine the project scope, reduce risk and cost uncertainty, and develop a funding strategy to deliver the scheme.

The project was currently at RIBA stage 2 with considerably more technical input required and a detailed design to be developed in order to move to RIBA stage 4 which would provide greater cost certainty.  These factors were reflected in the current high cost estimate that included a £3million contingency allocation.

The Council had approved £1.2 million to progress the project to RIBA Stage 4 and there remained a further £5.4 million in the provisional budget as a contribution to the total estimated cost of £18 million. 

An ‘Expression of Interest’ for funding of up to £4 million had been made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) in August 2019. If the NLHF’s criteria were met, the Council would be invited to submit a full funding application and be notified of the result in March 2020.  It was then intended to seek additional external funding during 2020-21 and to begin implementing the organisational structures to optimise the fundraising efforts.  This would include setting up a charitable entity to apply for and manage other funds and the establishment of a Fundraising campaign team.

To facilitate the project, the museum would need to retain its accredited status by applying to Arts Council England. The Museum Accreditation Scheme was the UK industry standard for museums and galleries.  The standard demonstrated that the museum complied with best practice to protect the collection for the future.

As part of the process, the Council needed to submit adopted up-to-date policies and plans. To date Officers had updated the Museum’s Forward Plan, Collections Development Policy, Documentation Policy and Access Policy to ensure that they met the accreditation requirements and were aligned with the aspirations of the new museum.

Building new partnerships and collaborations was a key part of this project and, to date, had included the University of Surrey, Surrey Archaeological Society, Surrey Infantry Museum Regiment, Friends of Guildford Museum, Guildford Heritage Forum, other local heritage attractions, the Carrollian Wonderland Trust and local satellite/gaming companies.

At its meeting held on 24 September 2019, the Executive had considered this matter and had:

(1)   Approved the revised scope of the project

(2)   Approved the Funding Strategy and appointment of fundraisers to implement the strategy

(3)   Delegated authority to adopt policies required for the Museum Accreditation to the Director of Environment in consultation with the Lead Councillor. 

(4)   Confirmed its support for the applications to National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and other funding bodies as they arise.

(5)   Authorised the Director of Environment to prepare an asset disposal strategy for Castle Cottage and 39 Castle Street (Victorian School Room) and to ring-fence the capital receipts from the disposal to pay for the museum redevelopment.

(6)   Approved the establishment of a registered charity to facilitate fundraising and receive donations from Trusts and other funders.

The Council considered a report which sought further approvals to support future work on the Guildford Museum development project.

Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Tourism, Leisure, and Sport, Councillor James Steel, seconded by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Caroline Reeves, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)     That a capital supplementary estimate of £11.8million to be funded by external grants and contributions from National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and other private trusts and donors as per the funding strategy, be approved.

(2)         That the Council agrees to underwrite the non-NLHF fundraising target of £7.8million and notes the risks associated with doing this as set out in paragraph 8.16 of this report, in particular to agree that if there is a shortfall in external funding then the Council will need to fund it from general fund borrowing and find additional service savings in order to fund the borrowing costs.

Reason:

To enable the Guildford Museum development to proceed.