Agenda item

The report introduces the Heritage Services Business Plan for approval.  The Plan sets out the strategy to rebuild visitor numbers and financial performance on a sustainable basis, whilst maintaining the high standards of visitor experience conservation and presentation that underpin commercial success.

Cllr Kevin Guy introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“I am very happy to propose the Heritage Services Business Plan for 2023 to 28. This report is the annual update to a rolling five-year plan, and it comes at a very positive and exciting time for the Heritage Services team.

I say positive as we are seeing a significant improvement in visitor numbers at the Roman Baths, following the shock of the pandemic. It’s very pleasing to see visitor numbers returning to around two thirds of pre-pandemic levels. This is higher than anticipated and spending in the Pump Rooms and Heritage Services’ shops over the past year has also increased. These figures may be driven by recovering international tourism and domestic ‘staycations’.

The report suggests we can expect to see a return to pre-pandemic visitor levels from 2025 – subject to the overall economic situation.

I welcome the ongoing projects to further improve the visitor offer at the Roman Baths and Clore Learning Centre, including an updated audio tour, a revised Audience Development Plan and additional investment in conservation activities.

We also have a lot of detail in the report about exciting projects being led by Heritage Services.

The new Fashion Museum is clearly the highest profile of these projects.

Despite the disappointment of not receiving Levelling Up Funding, this council and this administration are fully committed to the Re-Fashioning Bath Project. The process of delivering the Levelling Up Fund bid demonstrated the inherent economic and societal benefits of the scheme, which will be of importance going forwards.

We have already secured the Fashion Museum’s new home. The Old Post Office will be a fitting home for one of the world’s greatest museum collections and will mean a wider range of people can access and engage with the collection in a more modern, prominent, and flexible location.

Later this evening we’ll hear more from Cllr Roper about ‘meanwhile uses’ for the Old Post Office spaces and I note the Fashion Museum collection is now being protected at a high spec and secure storage facility owned by Dents glovemakers on the outskirts of Warminster. We are working closely with Bath Spa University on plans for the Fashion Collection Archive at Locksbrook.

We have a fantastic team in place to deliver the project, and I was very pleased to meet the new lead last month – Sophie McKinlay has joined us from the V and A Dundee.

Sophie joins a Heritage Services team with a solid track record of raising capital funding and delivering major capital projects, as demonstrated by the successful recent Archway project. Resources – from the West of England Combined Authority – are in place to develop a full vision, business case and funding strategy over the coming financial year. So, we can have the utmost confidence that the Fashion Museum will reopen in 4 or 5 years and will form the centrepiece of a new fashion destination in the Milson Quarter.

I would like to thank the Climate Emergency and Sustainability PDS panel for their work in scrutinising the business plan last week. Panel members raised some queries about the Victoria Art Gallery. It is clear that there has been a change in visitor behaviour from the Gallery’s current visitor base and the figures are not yet where we would wish them to be.

The council continues to be fully committed to supporting and improving the Victoria Art Gallery to increase its appeal to residents and visitors. We have recently appointed a new senior curator and planned investment in the gallery includes:

-  230 thousand pounds to fix the roof;

-  75 thousand pounds – from external funding – to create new spaces and encourage community, family and commercial activation;

-  the appointment of a new community engagement post – explicitly to deliver programming to appeal to a wider cross-section of local people and diversify the visitor base.

One of the greatest assets we have as a council is our staff. So, I’m pleased to see that the new Heritage Services strategy emphasises investment in staff development, engagement and welfare to ensure we can attract and retain the brightest and best officers.

I will turn to income generation in a moment, but I’ll just mention some other objectives from the strategy which include:

-  A clear focus on care of the monuments, buildings and collections in our care;

-  Investment in the journey to net zero, which is something every council department is involved in;

-  Continued distribution of Discovery Cards – with a focus on less well-off local communities – and I’m pleased that the council has issued 26,000 Discovery Cards since the scheme was relaunched in May 2022;

-  Community engagement and audience development – and especially delivering direct benefit to local people

-  Engaging with initiatives to improve the Destination and Culture across B&NES and the wider region – I particularly note the proposals around developing products with partners to encourage more overnight stays.

Clearly the focus of Heritage Services is the guardianship of our treasured historic assets and encouraging residents and visitors to make the most of them.

But the income from the council’s heritage attractions helps fund the vital public services residents rely on. I’m delighted with the strong recovery of the department in this respect. Income is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels over the next financial year and this is a key aim of the service.

The figures in the report anticipate an £8.2 million pound surplus being returned to the council in 2023/24. This marks Heritage Services as one of the most commercially successful heritage organisations in the UK and I’d like to congratulate the whole team on this achievement.

Finally, as we’re talking about heritage, I’d also like to take this opportunity to say how pleased we were to welcome the second General Assembly of the Great Spa Towns of Europe last week.

Bath’s rare second UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription is a massive achievement, and I was very proud to accept the official UNESCO certificate confirming the city’s inscription as one of the 11 Great Spa Towns of Europe on behalf of the community.

Cllr Richard Samuel seconded the motion.  He noted the income stream provided from the Heritage Services Team which is very important to the Council.  He stated that the heritage assets in the city provide a showcase to the world. 

RESOLVED (unanimously):

To approve the Heritage Services Business Plan.