Agenda item

The Joint Committee received a presentation from Peter Middleton of L&R Consulting as Project Director. He made the following points:

·         He thanked officers from Museums Worcestershire and the County Council for their help in getting the project to its current position

·         The purchase of the Hartlebury site had been completed in March 2015. Negotiations with the Church Commissioners had taken 6 months in total which was double the expected time

·         The original plan for the café was to remodel it and build a new extension. However the local planning authority had indicated that they would only grant a temporary permission for 5 years for such a new build. This created a problem as HLF would not provide funding for temporary buildings. In the light of the planning issue, the design team remodelled the design of the workshop and café. The new design included a larger café area in a more pleasant setting which avoided any internal alterations to the building. However HLF would not fund the scheme until planning permission was sought for the revised plans. Planning permission had now been granted by Wychavon District Council and the scheme could now proceed

·         The rest of the scheme remained unchanged from the original submission to HLF

·         The project would be in two phases. The first phase included the construction of the café and workshop, landscape works, extension to the car park, and preparatory work for the circular walk. The programme for Phase two had had to be reworked and had been set back a year. It included a revised approach to the construction work in the Bishops Palace. It was anticipated that the work would be completed by Spring 2017

·         The Museum would continue to operate throughout the construction periods albeit with access issues at times to allow certain works to take place. Disruption would be kept to a minimum

·         The Strategy for the operations of the Trust had been revisited. It was considered that the original Strategy contained an unnecessary element of risk for the Trust. The new arrangements were clearer and simpler and played to the strengths of all parties. Responsibility for the Revenue Grant and the core administrative strategy rested with the County Council. The Trust would take on responsibility for the new commercial elements including the café, the shop and hiring of the Bishops Palace  

·         A new surplus shares arrangement had been introduced which would allow Museums Worcestershire and the Trust to have a share of rising income. The Trust would therefore have better protection from the risks associated with adverse financial conditions

·         He hoped to get any outstanding information to HLF by the end of the week. HLF had indicated that they were unlikely to require a further meeting with the project team. Therefore it was hoped to get permission to start the enabling work shortly.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         Would it be appropriate at this stage to renew the marketing campaign for the site to remind the public of the proposals? Peter Middleton commented that the marketing strategy would be reviewed. The County Council had secured ACE resilience funding for which the Trust was a partner. Once the marketing post was filled, he anticipated that a series of marketing initiatives would be undertaken leading up to the completion of Phase 1 of the scheme

·         Croome Park had gone through a similar regeneration scheme. Had there been any contact with that project team to share knowledge? Peter Middleton advised that the work at Croome Park was relevant and contact had been made with its team

·         In response to a query about the accessibility of artefacts at the Bishops Palace, Peter Middleton stated that there was a loan arrangement with the Church Commissioners to allow historic paintings and pictures to be displayed. There were no plans for the purchase of new artefacts but it was possible that loan items would be displayed

·         Would the displays at the Palace be set in a particular historical period or over-time? Peter Middleton indicated that the displays would tell stories over time although certain displays eg the Long Room could only be displayed in a particular era

·         In response to a query about the grounds and historical context, Peter Middleton explained that the first phase of the scheme would include the creation of the circular walkway from the house around the edge of the lake, through the coppice and back to the house. Most of the work would be straight-forward to complete. Hereford and Worcester Garden Trust had offered to do research work in relation to the historical context of the gardens

·         The Head of Community and Environment (Worcestershire County Council) commented that although there was a complicated set of arrangements in place between the partner organisations for the operation of the site, the public would see a single integrated indoor and outdoor offer

·         In response to a query, the Head of Community and Environment explained that Museums Worcestershire and the County Council would have separate responsibilities under the new arrangements. The County Council would have responsibility for property matters. Museums Worcestershire would employ the front of house staff and provide marketing support

·         Peter Middleton explained that at one point the scheme was a year behind schedule. However the work to be done at the Bishops Palace was not complicated (apart from the construction of the lift). Contracts had been split up to ensure that the work of the contractors was focused. It was anticipated that the main building work would take six months to complete with a final completion date in Spring 2017.

RESOLVED that the presentation on the future operation of Hartlebury be noted.