Issue - meetings

This is the second update of the Heritage Services five-year Business Plan 2015-2020 that was approved by Cabinet in February 2015. It covers the five financial years from 2017/18 to 2021/22, and has been prepared following the annual in-depth review of business activity. The revised Plan includes an analysis of the risk involved.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones moved the recommendations by saying that recommendation 2.1 from the report would now read as: ‘Approve the Heritage Service Business Plan 2017-2022 with a slight amendment to the Business Strategy section under “Roman Baths” to read: “Increase admission charges in 2018 potentially with further increases in the other four years to be agreed with the relevant Cabinet Member and recognising the excellent value for money rating given by visitors.”

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones also said that the 2017-2022 Business Plan summarised how the Service had performed when benchmarked against other leading visitor attractions. Detailed commercially sensitive information had been provided in the exempt appendices which would be available to Cabinet Members upon request. The Plan also assessed the risk associated with assumptions on visitor volumes, including the threats posed by the development of competing visitor attractions, and sets out a business, pricing and marketing strategy to maximise income earned from the visitor market.

Councillor Charles Gerrish seconded the motion by highlighting the hard work of the staff who was dealing with large number of visitors every year.  Councillor Charles Gerrish emphasised the positive comments of the visitors to Roman Baths and stressed the contribution that Heritage Service had made to the overall budget. 

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

1)  Approve the Heritage Service Business Plan 2017-2022 with a slight amendment to the Business Strategy section under “Roman Baths” to read:

“Increase admission charges in 2018 potentially with further increases in the other four years to be agreed with the relevant Cabinet Member and recognising the excellent value for money rating given by visitors.”

2)  Confirm that it wishes Heritage Services to continue to work to the business principles agreed by the Council Executive in 2004, as amended;

3)  Approve the deferral of £100k of Approved capital expenditure on the implementation of the new Visitor Management System from 2017/18 to 2018/19;

4)  Note that at its February meeting Cabinet gave Provisional Approval to the following capital projects:

a)  Archway Centre Public Realm improvements at a cost of £226k to support funding already identified through the Roman Baths Infrastructure Programme and the Public Realm Improvement Programme to deliver essential safety and public realm works in the immediate area of the new Archway Project;

b)  Roman Baths & Pump Room Infrastructure Programme totalling £495k including replacing heat-exchange equipment (£250k) and existing electrical distribution equipment that is at maximum capacity and no longer fit for purpose (£45k).
 

5)  Note the investment contained within the Business Plan and approve the procurement of goods and services necessary to carry out this investment.