Norfolk Joint Museums Committee
Minutes Of The Meeting Held On 20 July 2004
Present:
Norfolk County Council
Norwich City Council
Mrs H A Bolt
Mr R M Clayton
Mr W Davison
Mr G B Hemming
Mr P Jimenez
Mr S P Murphy
Mr J H Perry-Warnes (substitute)
Mr J A Sheppard
Mr M Taylor
Mrs D Castle-Green
Ms B Ferris
Mrs F Hartley
Borough Council of King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk
Mr M Langwade (substitute)
Broadland District Council
Breckland District Council
Mr J W Bracey
Mr P J Duigan
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
South Norfolk District Council
Mr B J E Collins
Mr D Pond
North Norfolk District Council
Mrs H T Nelson
Co-opted Members
Museums in Norfolk Group
East of England, Museums,
Libraries, and Archives Council
Mr P Brooks
Mr T Heathcote
Also in Attendance:
Mr J R Gretton – Norfolk County Council
Apologies for Absence:
Mr M R H Carttiss
Mrs E Nockolds
Mrs R Salt
1
Election of Chairman
Resolved (nem con) That Mr S P Murphy be elected Chairman of the Joint Committee for the
ensuing year.
(Mr S P Murphy in the Chair)
2
Chairman’s Remarks
(a)
Welcome to New Members
The Chairman welcomed Ms B Ferris back onto the Joint Committee and
Mr D Pond to his first meeting.
(b)
Mr Rory Quinn
The Chairman paid tribute to the dedication and enthusiasm that Mr
Rory Quinn had shown during his many years as a member of the Joint
Museums Committee.
Mr Quinn had been appointed to the Joint Committee at the time of local
government reorganisation in 1974. Within two years of his appointment
he had been elected Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee, at a time of
considerable change and development for the Norfolk and Museums and
Archaeology Service, and went on to play a leading role in the great
strides forward that took place in recent times.
It was agreed that the Chairman should write to Mr Quinn to express the
Joint Committee’s thanks for the significant contribution he had made to
the Service and to wish him well for the future.
3
Declarations of Interest
None.
4
Minutes
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 March 2004 were confirmed by
the Joint Committee and signed by the Chairman.
5
Election of Vice-Chairman
The names of Mrs F Hartley and Mr P J Duigan were moved and duly
seconded.
On being put to the vote their were 9 votes in favour of Mr P J Duigan and 6
votes in favour of Mrs F Hartley, whereupon it was
Resolved That Mr P J Duigan be elected Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee for the
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ensuing year.
6
Urgent Business
None.
7
Public Questions
There were no public questions.
8
Political Representation on the Joint Museums Committee and
Appointments to Urgent Business Sub-Committee and Norfolk
Archaeological Services Advisory Committee 2004/05
The annexed report by the Secretary of the Joint Committee was received.
Resolved That the following persons be appointed to the under-mentioned bodies for
2004/05:(a)
Urgent Business Sub-Committee
Mr P J Duigan
Mr G B Hemming
Mr S P Murphy
Mrs H T Nelson
Mr J A Sheppard
Substitute Members
It was agreed that all Members of the Joint Committee could act as
substitutes subject to the following being the first members approached:
Mr R M Clayton
Ms B Ferris
Mrs F Hartley
(b)
Norfolk Archaeological Services Advisory Committee
Mrs H A Bolt
Mrs H T Nelson
9
Reports of Area Museums Committees
(a)
Breckland
The annexed report of the Breckland Area Museums Committee meeting
held on 7 May 2004 was received and noted.
The Joint Committee was pleased to hear that Gressenhall had a fourth
Suffolk Punch in George, a new friend for Queenie following the death of
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Zebedee in 2003.
(b) (i) Great Yarmouth
The annexed report of the Great Yarmouth Area Museums Committee
meeting held on 21 May 2004 was received and noted.
It was reported that the Mayor of Great Yarmouth and the Chairman of
Norfolk County Council had jointly opened Tide and Time on 12 July
2004. The work had finished on schedule and to cost. Further funding of
£235,000 had been secured from ERDF: Objective 2 and SRB for
proposed revisions to lighting, fire and security systems and CCTV.
These revisions would enhance displays and help in achieving and
sustaining visitor numbers. A new open-top bus tour of Great Yarmouth
was scheduled to go pass the new Museum.
(b) (ii) Nelson’s Monument
Mr Michael Knights, Principal Building Conservation Officer, gave
members an update on work to secure the restoration and long-term
future of Nelson’s Monument. He said that work on the site was due to
be completed by 21 October 2005 in time for the 200th anniversary
celebrations of the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The site had several
problems, but the worst damage had been caused by extensive water
logging at the base. There were no plans to remove from the monument
the glass fibre figure of Britannia. Plans were being made for physical
and intellectual access to the monument. Access to the top had not been
intended when the monument was first opened and would cause too
many health and safety problems today. It would, however, be possible
to have access on special occasions, such as Trafalgar Day.
(c)
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
The annexed report of the King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Area Museums
Committee meeting held on 5 April 2004 was received and noted.
It was reported that a successful application had been made to the
Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to remodel the Lynn Museum and that
this work was due to start in the Autumn. A key element of the proposal
focused on making an asset of the listed Union Baptist Chapel building,
which would be enhanced through the removal of the modern
suspended ceiling currently obscuring the fine chapel roof space. It was
also reported that NMAS had been awarded £39,000 from the Norfolk
County Council Minor Works budget to undertake a programme of
DDA – related access improvements to the Town House Museum.
(d)
North Norfolk
The annexed report of the North Norfolk Area Museums Committee
meeting held on 8 June 2004 was received and noted.
Referring to paragraph 12 of the report, Mr Brooks said that Sheringham
Museum had made a successful Stage 1 application to the HLF for
£692,500. He said that Sheringham Museum was waiting to hear
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whether they had also been successful in seeking a further £22,500 to
help develop displays and stories. EEDA had agreed to provide
matched partnership funding of £22,500 for this purpose.
Mr Clayton suggested that the Imperial War Museum might be able to
help the Air Force Steering Committee in planning the future of the RAF
Air Defence Radar Museum in Neatishead. Mrs Nelson said that it
would be helpful if the Joint Committee were to join the North Norfolk
Area Museums Committee in writing to the Station Commander of RAF
Neatishead to express concern over the future of the RAF Air Defence
Radar Museum at Neatishead and this was
Resolved –
Accordingly.
10
To Receive the Report of the Norfolk Archaeological Services Advisory
Committee meeting held on 29 March 2004.
The annexed report of the Norfolk Archaeological Advisory Services Committee
was received and noted.
The Joint Committee endorsed the action taken by the Urgent Business SubCommittee in responding to the DCMS Consultation Paper on the ecclesiastical
exemption from Listed Building and Conservation Area Control operated in
England.
11
Head of Museums and Archaeology Update
The Joint Committee received on the table an amended version of the report by
the Head of Museums and Archaeology.
The Head of Museums and Archaeology explained the short, medium and long
term plans to improve publicity and signage in and around the Castle Museum
that had been considered at the last meeting of the Norwich Area Museums
Committee.
Ms Ferris said that the East Anglian Arts Foundation supported an approach to
improve publicity and signage at the Castle Museum by the installation of
tasteful banner and poster sites on and around the Castle site. She said this
would be useful in promoting the Castle not only as a Museum but also as an
Art Gallery that included important Tate exhibitions, touring exhibitions from
other galleries in Britain or abroad, and work from local collections and themes
of particular local interest.
12
Budget Out-Turn Report 2003/04
The annexed report by the Head of Museums and Archaeology was received.
The Joint Committee noted the Museums and Archaeology revenue and capital
budget out-turns for 2003/04.
13
Capital Development Strategy for Norfolk Museums and Archaeology
Service
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The annexed report by the Head of Museums and Archaeology was received.
The Head of Museums and Archaeology said that the report provided an update
on a long-term Capital Development Strategy for NMAS museum sites that
could be shared with the Heritage Lottery Fund and other principal grant giving
bodies at an early stage and showed to everyone concerned that the Service
did not deal with Capital Developments in a piecemeal way.
Mr Hayman, the Programme Manager for the European Objective 2 funded
museums and heritage package in Norfolk said that a significant number of
NMAS museums would be closed over the next 18 months for refurbishment
work. The legal agreement for Objective 2 funding had been signed in March
2004. An added advantage of Objective 2 projects was that they generated
partnerships with related organisations, spreading knowledge and
understanding of museums and their activities throughout the “heritage” and
tourism community.
Ms Maddox, the Curator of Community History, informed the Joint Committee
how she was putting together a programme to develop the Bridewell Museum
as an interactive, interesting and lively community history museum, celebrating
the lives of the people of Norwich and bringing their stories up-to-date. She
said that the Museum was being developed in a way that would allow for
improved disabled access.
In reply to a question from Mr Jimenez, the Curator said that she would look at
ways in which the skills of volunteers could be better used. She was asked by
Mr Clayton and Mr Davidson to consider developing the Bridewell Museum in a
way that would give access to the significant undercroft.
Members received a slide presentation from Mr Bone, Curator, on the Ancient
House Museum, Thetford, Capital Development Scheme. (Copies of the slides
are enclosed at Appendix A).
Resolved –
That NMAS Officers should seek to implement the proposed Capital
Development Strategy as outlined in the report.
14
Annual Review of Visitor Performance
The annexed report by the Head of Museums and Archaeology was received.
The Head of Museums and Archaeology said that there was a nationwide
downward trend in attendance at Museums. However, where NMAS Museums
have undergone redevelopment they were reversing this trend by achieving
high visitor numbers and increasing the quality of the museum visit.
In reply to questions from Miss Ferris the Head of Museums and Archaeology
gave the following information as regards free admission visitor numbers at the
Castle Museum:
Those entering with a Museum Pass
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Friends of Museums
7%
2.5%
No comparable information was available for visitors solely to the Castle Shop
or for visitors to Roots of Norfolk. Equipment had recently been installed at the
Castle Museum to allow Museums Pass holders to renew their subscriptions
through direct debit. This facility would be available in the next few weeks. The
computerised (data-box) system used at the Castle Museum had now been
installed at Roots of Norfolk. This system provided helpful information on
visitors and would help in setting ticket prices and the provision of new
services.
15
Renaissance In the Regions
The Head of Museums and Archaeology verbally reported that over three years
the Renaissance in the Regions Scheme would bring £542,000 into the NMAS.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer had agreed that from 2006 the Renaissance
in the Regions Schemes would receive additional funding, although it was not
yet known how this would benefit Norfolk.
The meeting concluded at 4.20 pm.
Chairman
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