CANAL & RIVER TRUST
Minutes of the Museums & Attractions Partnership meeting
held at the Gloucester Waterways Museum
on Friday 14 September 2012 at 10.30
L Newman (Chair)
J Alderson
D Davies (General Manager, Gloucester Waterways Museum)
R Hanbury
J Hume
P Juniper
C Kay
D Lumb
S Mogel
E Moss (National Volunteering Manager)
R Rutter (Head of Enterprise, South)
C Witts
J Yates
1.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
E Chaplin
N Crowe
C Killeavy
B Harvey
R Ruderham
J Sharman
2.
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 18 JULY 2012
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The minutes of the meeting were agreed as a correct record
Any matters arising would be dealt with in the main agenda
MUSEUM OPERATIONS
DL introduced the paper.
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DL engaged in integrating Museums & Attractions with CRT as a group
Risk Assessment Day held on 7 September – provided a basis of
perceived risk to be addressed over the next year and to be used within
the Business Plan
Key Performance Indicators being devised, although some would be
difficult to measure. CRT as a whole were engaged in identifying KPIs
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appropriate to the organisation. JH noted that the views of Trust
users/customers should be taken into account. RR stated the need to
ensure that external bodies understood what would be measured and
why
DL would be reporting to the CRT Audit Committee to introduce the
M&A. LN acknowledged the wider remit of CRT Audit than purely
financial figures and that the Internal Audit process would assist in
developing a risk register. RR suggested that a member of the Audit
Committee be asked to give a 10 minute presentation to the M&A
Partnership
Business Plan to be built up covering:
o Core Works – i.e. statutory requirements & testing
o Reactive Works
o Main Works – aimed at improvements
There would be input from various elements of each of the above into
plans for staffing, management and volunteers.
Priorities would be set within the framework of available finance.
LN stated that the Business Plan should be linked to the Strategic Plan
which had already been formulated
DL suggested that a Strategic Plan for the M&A would cover all 5 sites
and was likely to take a year to prepare for eventual presentation to
Trustees. A special workshop session should be held to assist the
formulation. RR identified the need for more comparative statistics to
be collected in order to provide some direction. LN noted that there was
already some information available but it would need to be more
rigorously collected and prepared.
JH recommended a 3 tier plan
covering the areas of must do, like to do and aspire to do
M&A visitor numbers were generally down on the previous year
NWM was 7% down
Canal Museum had been affected by the very poor weather, which
traditionally discourages visitors to the village
Standedge and Anderton were also both down, but Anderton did benefit
from having some indoor attractions and activities
Some competing attractions are not so weather dependent and actually
benefit when people need to be indoors/under cover. It would be useful
to have access to some comparative statistics for national and regional
trends. These could be sourced from ALVA (Association of Leading
Visitor Attractions). RH questioned whether the current marketing offer
was correctly focussed
DD stated that she did have access to local visitor figures and regularly
talked to other attractions in the area
CK was aware of distortions in visitor numbers which can be caused by
the timing of events
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RH pointed out that Easter was particularly important for museum
visiting and the timing of the financial year often skewed the numbers.
However, it should be possible to report numbers on a Jan-Dec basis for
more consistency
JA asked whether package tours and coach parties were approached and
was advised that this was indeed done, but that in Gloucester, in
particular, parking and access arrangements were not conducive to
attracting such custom
DL stated that it would be necessary to define what a visitor was in order
to be able to compare like with like
JH stressed the importance of the catering offer on each site, which must
be of a good standard.
Gloucester Waterways Museum
DD reported that visitor numbers were generally down but that income
had remained reasonable
More input had been received from volunteers but it was still a struggle
to man the museum
Steering Group was progressing well in preparing the Strategy for the HLF
bid
Bookings for boat trips had been variable, with some scheduled trips well
attended while other were poor. JA asked whether the Clevedon to
Gloucester cruise was likely to be resurrected, but it was thought to be
unlikely
RH stated that Coots had vacated the café premises on 31 August and
that negotiations with Weatherspoons were ongoing. A £1m investment
plan in the facility was possible with the net value to CRT being £60k per
annum. This could be a step change in the offer available on the Docks.
Negotiations should be completed in time to allow development and
opening by Easter 2013. It had been necessary to write-off a net debt of
£7k at the conclusion of Coots’ occupancy
CW raised the fuelling of the Dredger as a working exhibit. This was
currently funded by the Friends but, at £250 per working day, was
proving a drain on resources. The Dredger should be marketed as a
particular attraction and the museum could budget for its running costs
accordingly.
National Waterways Museum
Events had been mainly successful, however, Mersey Ferries cruises had
been only partially so and the operators were now seeking subsidisation
to continue to run the cruises. SM stated that the marketing of the
cruises needed to be upgraded, particularly in the Marketing Cheshire
region
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Keeping History Afloat trainees had now finished. One had a job, one
was hoping to secure a job and the other was continuing to volunteer at
the museum. The management of the trainees would now be changing
and a review of the process was under way
Youth Activity events in the summer had been good
Major efforts were under way to remove/treat weeds in the museum
basin, and the local Waterway Manager was involved and was bearing
the costs. RR noted the wide experience in this mater within CRT
nationally including via the professional ecologists. However, there was
no easy solution to the long-standing problem and weed would continue
to flow up the canal to its terminus at NWM
The weed was one of the major dangers to visitor safety at NWM due to
its resemblance to a sward of grass. This would form part of a Safety
Review during week commencing 17 September
The first wedding at the Rolt Centre utilising the new kitchen facilities
had been successful. There were a few minor issues with the kitchen
which would be addressed
CK noted that the Mossdale/George HLF bid was involving much
volunteer time and effort
The outgoing message regarding volunteering within CRT was important.
Issues raised by current volunteers regarding CRT integration and data
protection had been addressed
It was noted that, while financially dormant, BMT (Boat Museum Trust)
still retained title to most of the vessels in the collection. RH also
pointed out that The Waterways Trust as an entity still existed within CRT
The vessel Gwendoline, which was the last wooden keeled vessel of its
kind was currently sunk and in poor condition. The level of responsibility
that NWM has to preserve this vessel would be determined by its status
nationally as well as regionally. LN suggested that this could be raised
with the Heritage Committee, but RH suggested that M&A Partnership
should review it beforehand, perhaps arranging for the vessel to be
surveyed. It currently was situated adjacent to Mossdale, work on which
could well affect Gwendoline. JH noted that wide boats were becoming
more important as preservation items than narrowboats.
The Canal Museum
Activity at the site remains at a good level despite the weather.
Preparations for Village at War were progressing
DL was meeting Mike Constable to discuss the management of the
collection
Running costs for Sculptor were discussed, along with its ownership.
This would be raised in Budget discussions
Museum space remains at a premium. The Grand Union Canal Control
Board should be on display, but there was no room
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4.
Dale Copley had been recruited as Collections Manager, commencing in
November. Her job would be solely to look at the collections over the 5
sites
DL was meeting CRT filming people to attract them to museum sites and
achieve some income
RH reiterated the fact that CRT should not be seen by M&A as a “cash
cow” and that Friends organisations might continue to be the right
people to carry the costs for some working exhibits
EM hoped to see a more coherent group of volunteers to provide access
to and use of historic vessels on the canal network and this may provide a
Business Plan opportunity. JH agreed that the movement of museum
vessels on the network would provide mobile attractions amounting to a
separate business opportunity. EM agreed that the boats themselves
created a volunteering opportunity
Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre
Passenger numbers and incomes were well down on the previous year
An Events Volunteer with a marketing background had joined
The Arts Fest this year had not been as successful as previously
The site required a development plan to give it some direction
The café might be moved this winter
The site was intrinsically attractive to, e.g. ramblers groups, in addition to
the tunnel history and activity itself
RR noted an intention to convert visitors to the museums and attractions
“shop windows” to ongoing Friends of CRT.
Anderton Visitor Centre
The café was successful and had built a reputation for good quality
Free entry to the visitor centre had had an effect but the parking charges
still remained
There had been some operational problems with the trip boat
Volunteer staff operating the lift had caused some concern with the
unions, as it was perceived that jobs were being taken
EM noted that all volunteer opportunities were discussed with the
unions, e.g. lock keepers, and there were ongoing discussions on this
issue
LN asked for a paper to be prepared for the M&A Partnership on the
effects of free admission at AVC.
FINANCE.
PJ presented his report and explained that he was still not able to produce
management accounts for all five sites as Anderton and Standedge remained
the only ones reporting through the CRT SAP system while the three
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museums continued to be accounted for under TWT’s Sage accounts. PJ was
working with the CRT Finance team to correct this position, but meanwhile
would continue to report on the three museums only. The report included
summaries of the management accounts for the 4 months to July 2012 and
PJ was also able to comment on the August accounts which had just been
completed.
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Net contribution at July was £43.5k behind budget and £89.6 behind the
same period last year. The shortfall against budget had reduced slightly
during August. The main reasons for this position had already been
discussed in the Operations report.
Gloucester was closest to budget in terms of both visitor numbers and
contribution and museum expenditure has been kept well under control.
Trading at NWM was marginally ahead of the previous year despite the
fewer visitor numbers and costs were much closer to budget and less
than the previous year. However, staffing costs were up against budget.
Operating without a Collections Manager or the proposed Archivist had
saved costs in both the Curatorial and Archive costs centres.
A reforecasting exercise would be taking place in October for consolidation
into CRT’s F6 forecast and work was commencing on preparation of the B13
Business Plan and budget.
5.
MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT
DL was becoming heavily involved and her longer term role was soon to be
determined. LN had met Tony Hales earlier in the year and Museums &
Attractions was now recognised firmly as part of CRT’s overall organisation.
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The Archivist position would report to the Head of M&A. CRT had
requested that the function cover all of CRT, providing written and
electronic archive resources in a readily accessible form.
DL would be presenting authorisation paperwork to HR Dept. for both
the Archivist and a Volunteer Co-ordinator position
Sarah Burns would be assisting with Marketing & PR. Oliver Briscoe
would be drafting marketing plans for all 5 sites for incorporation in the
Strategic Plan or sooner
Legal and operational integration of museums within CRT was under way.
Finance analyst support would be available to assist
Building maintenance at NWM was being covered by national CRT
contract, with the other two museums to follow
The report of the Ellesmere Port Development team had now been
issued to local interested parties and cash backing was now being sought
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to take this forward. The Marina appeared to be a good short-term
activity to get started
The Gloucester HLF bid would be submitted in January. Jackie Harris was
working on a strategic plan. More widely, a waterfront strategy was
being developed for Gloucester with some leadership from the City
Council at officer level. It was hoped that this could benefit from the
work already done at Ellesmere Port. An initial workshop would be held
leading to a longer term project. There would be some development in
the prison/police building area
It had been agreed that TWT would remain as custodian of the museum
collection, which gave it some legal protection
Museum properties were being reviewed, where NWM was on leased
property, while Gloucester and the Canal Museum were both CRT
commercial properties. They would be maintained by CRT surveyors,
but there was a need to balance the cost versus the required level of
maintenance. The appearance of the museum buildings was paramount
to the success of them as attractions. A mixture of volunteers and
bought-in services would be required.
Future meeting dates were discussed and broadly agreed.
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Emma Chaplin had prepared a report which was presented by DL.
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Linda Barley now reported to DL. Archive was receiving plenty of
enquiries but Linda was becoming swamped. Digitisation was still under
discussion
The Collections terms of reference were to be reviewed by the Curatorial
Committee
The HLF Mossdale/George bid had been submitted
The importance of maintaining the museums’ accreditation was
underlined as it was vital to keep up their reputation
Delivery of the Keeping History Afloat project had now been transferred
to John Inch and an apprenticeship scheme was to be written
JH noted the poor condition of the vessel Oak, which was a bad
advertisement for the Gloucester museum. A refurbishment programme
was required
Also, the vessel Manchester at NWM was in need of conservation
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
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LN enquired how wider CRT Strategy would fit with Museums &
Attractions
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RR commented on the recruitment of Friends of CRT. There had been
some issues with HMRC regarding incentives but there would be
member benefits. It was important to discover what areas of CRT
activity potential members were interested in, e.g. wildlife, quiet places,
etc. A Friends database needed to be built up
There would be specific funding campaigns to fill funding gaps
If museum and attraction entry incentives were to be offered to Friends,
then it was important that the Partnership should know the terms as
soon as possible
RR also mentioned the HLF bid where temporary paid posts were
involved. This was causing HR Dept. some concern, but DL would
approach them with the background
It was agreed that papers for future meetings would be submitted
electronically.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING.
Thursday 15 November 2012 at the National Waterways Museum,
Ellesmere Port at 1030. This would be preceded by a site tour at 1000
Future Meeting Dates:
Thursday 10 January 2013, The Canal Museum Stoke Bruerne
Thursday 14 March, Standedge Visitor Centre
Thursday 9 May, Anderton Visitor Centre
Thursday 11 July, Gloucester Waterways Museum
Thursday 12 September, National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere
Port
Thursday 14 November, The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne
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