NORFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL
BOROUGH COUNCIL OF KING’S LYNN AND WEST NORFOLK
KING’S LYNN AND WEST NORFOLK AREA MUSEUMS COMMITTEE
Minutes of a Meeting of the Committee held on
Monday 2 December, 2002 at 2.30pm in
Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn
PRESENT:
Borough Council of King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk
Councillor P R Richards
- Borough Council of King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk
Councillor B A Seaman
- Borough Council of King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk
Councillor A M J Tyler
- Borough Council of King’s Lynn
and West Norfolk
County Councillor Mrs H Bolt (Chair)- Norfolk County Council
County Councillor Mrs J Eells
- Norfolk County Council
Mr D Higgins
- Friends of King’s Lynn Museums
Councillor A J Dobson
-
Officers present:
Mr R Hanley
-
Mr T Hall
-
Norfolk Museums and
Archaeology Service
Heritage Officer BCKLWN
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor L V Wilkinson, Mr R
Quinn, Dr A Lane and Ms V Trevellyan.
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MINUTES
The minutes of the Meeting held on 9 September 2002 were confirmed
as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
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KING’S LYNN MUSEUMS REPORT
A report by the Head of Museums and Archaeology on the King’s Lynn
Museums for the period September to November 2002 was presented
by Robin Hanley, Area Museums Officer. In presenting the report he
drew attention to a number of events and activities which had been or
would be taking place at the Museums.
The current exhibition at Lynn Museum “On the Ball City!”, previously on
show at Norwich Castle, had been given a strong local focus using
material loaned by local collectors. There had been good media
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coverage and there had been a positive response to the exhibition,
which runs until 4 January 2003.
A small maritime display was mounted at the Town House Museum as
part of the Borough Council’s Maritime Festival from 20 – 27 October.
The displays were complemented by a series of craft workshops “Junk
Junks” were held at the Lynn Museum in which children were able to
make and sail model boats. In response to a question it was explained
that all such events are expected to be self financing. A fee is charged
to the participants and some events attract external funding.
Reference was made to a display on the Marshland Project, which had
been mounted in the foyer at the Council offices at King’s Court. The
Project had also been publicised through the Borough Council’s
Members’ Bulletin. It was explained that this is a new idea to raise
awareness of events and exhibitions being run by the Museums Service.
A programme of training for Museum Assistants will be starting early in
the New Year. These will be held at the Norwich Museum involving
assistants from King’s Lynn and other museums in the County.
It was reported that membership of the Friends of King’s Lynn Museums
has increased and that a new membership leaflet has been produced.
As well as providing practical support, Friends also help with funds to
purchase items for the Museums Service, which is greatly appreciated.
A survey of the training needs of members of the King’s Lynn and West
Norfolk Heritage Partnership had been undertaken and external funding
is being sought to meet the cost of training.
Reference was made to the West Norfolk Heritage Strategy and Action
Plan, the final draft of which is currently awaiting confirmation by the
Borough Council. Members of the Committee indicated a wish to be
given the opportunity to look at the approved action plan and it was
agreed that a report be prepared for the next meeting.
Attention was drawn to the successful children’s events run by the Lynn
Museum. SRB6 funding enabled schools in the Marshland area, which
do not normally use King’s Lynn Museums Service, to be targeted
through an outreach programme of “Fairy Tale Fun” sessions which
involved some 400 children.
Summaries showing the breakdown of visitors to Lynn Museum and
Town House Museum from April to October 2003 compared with the
same period in the previous year were received. It was noted that the
main reason for the fall in visitor numbers at the Town House Museum is
due to the reduction in the number of school visits. Both sites are
struggling to attract new visitors, although temporary exhibits are helping
to maintain visitor numbers. Attention was drawn to Best Value
Performance Indicator BVPI 170, which gives a better reflection of the
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level of activity within the service as figures shown include enquiries and
outreach statistics.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
3.
POTENTIAL NMAS INVOLVEMENT IN MANAGEMENT OF THE
GREEN QUAY, KING’S LYNN
The report of the Head of Museums and Archaeology was presented by
Robin Hanley.
Members of the Committee were reminded that at its meeting on 17
June 2002 it was reported that NMAS had been invited by the Borough
Council to explore the principle of taking over the management of the
Green Quay Wash interpretation centre, subject to agreement by
relevant partners.
A business plan was developed, in consultation with staff at the Green
Quay and Borough Council Officers, and was presented to Green Quay
trustees on 20 September 2002.
Trustees subsequently decided not to pursue the NMAS management
option, as they wished to retain the independence of the centre and
explore other development opportunities.
Members of the Committee expressed their thanks to Robin Hanley for
the work which had been done in preparation of the business plan,
which had subsequently proved to be abortive.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
4.
LYNN MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
Reference was made to the previous meeting when the Committee had
been advised that the Borough Council had been unable to support the
proposed partnership capital development scheme for those heritage
and museum services currently delivered by the Borough Council,
Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service and the Borough Archives.
The Committee had resolved that an initial report on the development of
a project for the Lynn Museum should be considered at this meeting.
A report providing outline details of the proposed capital development
scheme for the Lynn Museum was presented by Robin Hanley. The
report detailed the key elements within the new project, and it was
explained that the project attempts to include as many elements as
possible from those originally envisaged in the partnership scheme.
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It was reported that as the project costs are estimated to be less than £1
million, the project would be eligible for an application to be made from
the Heritage Lottery Fund. Under this scheme, 10% matched funding is
required and funding would be sought from Norfolk County Council and
other sources of external funding. Within the project, a 3 year Outreach
Officer post and a 1 year Digitisation Officer post are proposed, for
which external funding would be sought.
The provisional timetable for the project application and implementation,
subject to funding being in place, was noted.
In considering the report, Members of the Committee received
clarification on a number of issues, including how and with whom public
consultation would be conducted, and improved access to collections.
Members of the Committee expressed disappointment that the original
proposed partnership capital development scheme had not been
supported, and welcomed the proposals for the Lynn Museum now
detailed.
RESOLVED:
5.
1.
That the Committee supports the proposed project for the Lynn
Museum and the preparation of funding bids to the Heritage
Lottery Fund and other external funders.
2.
That a detailed progress report on the development project for the
Lynn Museum be considered at the next meeting.
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
It was reported that Dr Andrew Lane, who represents Museums in
Norfolk Group, will leave his post at Trues Yard Museum at Christmas
and that Catherine Morrison has been appointed to replace him.
It was reported that the Youth Representative, Miss G Cousins, no
longer lives in the area and is unable to attend meetings of the
Committee. It was agreed that a replacement representative should be
sought as soon as possible. If the constitution and terms of reference
for the Committee permits, it was suggested that a second youth
representative might also be co-opted onto the Committee. It was
indicated that the College of West Anglia would be an appropriate body
to approach in this respect.
RESOLVED:
That nominations be sought for 2 Youth Representatives to be co-opted
onto the Committee, subject to this number being permissible within the
constitution and terms of reference of the Committee.
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6.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
RESOLVED: That the next meeting be held on Monday 31 March 2003
at 2.30 pm at the Lynn Museum.
The meeting closed at 4.00pm
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