Decision details

The report seeks Cabinet approval for the annual update of the Heritage Services Business Plan and Museums Forward Plans

(1) To APPROVE the Heritage Services Business Plan 2015-2020;

(2) To APPROVE the Roman Baths Museum Forward Plan;

(3) To APPROVE the Victoria Art Gallery Museum Forward Plan;

(4) To APPROVE the Museum Documentation Policy

(5) To APPROVE the Care and Collections Policy;

(6) To NOTE that the February 2015 Council Budget Report recommends that both the £1m capital budget for East Baths Development, to be delivered in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and the £100k capital budget for Roman Baths infrastructure works to be delivered in 2015/16, be fully approved;

(7) To NOTE the proposed capital project to commence the refurbishment of the Roman Baths site and its Retail outlets in 2019/20 at a cost of £1.15 Million, for consideration as part of the 2016/17 budget process.

(8) To NOTE that the February 2015 Council Budget Report approves the re-phasing of the £100k capital budget for the Retail module of the Visitor Management System from 2014/15 to 2015/16.

(9) To NOTE that the February 2014 Council budget included the development of the Archway Centre as an emerging capital project for which a Council contribution of £650-750k should be sufficient to satisfy the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

(10) To CONFIRM that Cabinet wishes Heritage Services to continue to work to the business principles agreed by the Council Executive in 2004 as amended.

Heritage Services operates as a business unit, with annual profit targets and investment levels agreed corporately on a rolling basis. The business strategy to achieve these targets is detailed in a Business Plan ('The Plan'), reviewed and revised each year. The Plan provides a fully integrated approach to income generation and the investment necessary to achieve it, and is aligned with the Council's corporate aims and objectives.

In 2010 the Audit Commission commended Heritage Services for its achievements in value-for-money and for the business systems that enable these to be made as part of their assessment of the Council's ‘Use of Resources’. A review of governance by the Council’s internal audit service in 2013/14 rated the current arrangements as ‘excellent’.

During 2014/15 the s151 Officer and Strategic Director (Place) commissioned an options review to consider the best governance model for the Service and to identify any areas where business performance could be enhanced yet further. The review recommended that Heritage Services remain an in-house service and that its operating freedoms granted in 2004 be restored in order to enable it to continue to thrive in the competitive visitor attractions market.

The process of revising and updating the Business Plan has involved consideration of a number of different pricing, marketing and investment options. The financial and business effects of these options were modelled and evaluated. The business strategy attached recommends a coherent and integrated series of decisions that are most likely to enable the Service to meet the targets required of it by the Financial Plan and sustain this level of performance in future years.

Another option would be for Heritage Services to cease functioning along the business lines of the past ten years and return to being a conventional local authority museum service. The absence of investment would lead to a loss of focus and competitiveness and result in falling revenues to the Council. This course of action is not recommended.