Agenda item

(Wellbeing & Community Partnerships – Cllr A Patel) - to adopt an alternative operating model for Epping Forest District Museum in principle (C-026-2022-23).

(1)        That Cabinet agreed, in principle, to adopt an alternative operating model for Epping Forest District Museum;

(2)        That Cabinet agreed, in principle, to a charitable Trust being established to provide that alternative operating model and gives consent to work to progress toward that aim;

(3)        The Cabinet acknowledged the process to achieve an alternative operating model would be subject to scrutiny at the relevant committee; and

(4)        That any final decision on confirming an alternative operating model for the Epping Forest District Museum would return to Cabinet at the appropriate time.

The Wellbeing & Community Partnerships Portfolio Holder, Cllr A Patel introduced the report.

The Council was committed to future-proofing the delivery of the Museum service whilst also addressing the need to make efficiencies in the current fiscal climate. Following a meeting held at the Museum on 12th September, which was attended by a number of District Councillors, Officers, and an independent specialist consultant, where it was proposed that Epping Forest District Museum should be moved into trust status. It was felt that the Museum’s future would be best secured by outsourcing its management and operation as a ‘community’ museum.

The report provided an assessment of possible options as to how this could be achieved, together with key issues that need to be considered in transferring from a directly provided local authority service into another entity. It also proposed a concept of what a ‘community’ museum might be and an indicative timetable and tasks for transitioning.

Councillor Philip welcomed the report, as it gave an opportunity to keep the museum going and to make it better. Councillor H Whitbread noted that the museum was valuable to the district and its schools, and this would protect it in the long term.

Councillor S Kane said it seemed sensible and asked when the final decision would return to Cabinet (as stated in recommendation 4). He was told that they were employing the skills of a specialist consultant to take this forward, and they should be able to come back to the Cabinet in 4 to 6 months.

Councillor Kauffman said that he would like this linked to tourism in the district and could it be linked to other things such as the Gunpowder Mill. He was also nervous about the appointment of trustees and would like a mechanism to employ local, knowledgeable people in these posts. He was told that the council already had good established links with the community through the work of the council staff. They would be looking to recruit trustee that had the right skill sets to run and enhance the museum.

Councillor Jon Whitehouse noted that the property was not mentioned in the report, or at least it was not made clear, would the council maintain the property or have a rental agreement. Also, would it continue to have a registered museum status, this should be added to the report. He was told that the Council would retain responsibility for the building and its artifacts, and they would consider its status. Details had not yet been worked out but keeping the museum registration was important.

Councillor Murray asked when was the current appraisal of the museum done. If the meeting on 12^th September was officer led or portfolio holder led. Would it be possible to see the input of the specialist consultants from that meeting. Will there still be a core of professional staff at the museum? He was told that this had been a member led idea for the last 5 years. As a council we had financial challenges, and the museum was expensive to run and to enable us to continue to run this we looked into the concept of the museum as a charitable trust. At the meeting on 12 September, we had the consultant there, with Councillors H Kane, L Burrows, H Whitbread and A Patel. This was a listening exercise, and this report was the first public stage to investigate the process. We were looking at the operating function of the museum and were considering all options available to us. Most of what the consultant said was in the appendices of the report.

Councillor Brookes noted we did not have a statutory duty to provide a museum. She was glad the Cabinet was taking this seriously but was disappointed that there were no figures in the report on savings. Councillor Patel noted that the building also had the library service within it so we were able to develop a community hub. Work was currently being done on what savings we could make in the future.

Decision:

(1)        That Cabinet agreed, in principle, to adopt an alternative operating model for Epping Forest District Museum;

(2)        That Cabinet agreed, in principle, to a charitable Trust being established to provide that alternative operating model and gives consent to work to progress toward that aim;

(3)        The Cabinet acknowledged the process to achieve an alternative operating model would be subject to scrutiny at the relevant committee; and

(4)        That any final decision on confirming an alternative operating model for the Epping Forest District Museum would return to Cabinet at the appropriate time.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

In order to secure the long-term future of the Epping Forest District Museum service it is necessary to review its current operating model. Increasingly, local authorities nationally are successfully outsourced their museums. Securing Cabinet agreement, in principle, to the establishment of a charitable Trust to provide an alternative operating model will enable work to progress towards this aim.

Other Options for Action:

(i)         Not to agree to progress exploration into an alternative operating model for the Epping Forest District Museum and to retain the delivery of the museum service in Epping Forest District Council

(ii)        To make alternative changes to the museum service (subject to further consultation/scrutiny where appropriate).