HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 The purpose of this paper is to describe the Mary Rose project, its importance to Hampshire, its current user patterns, and to set out the reasons why Hampshire County Council and Hampshire residents would benefit from working more closely with the Trust in its bid to develop a new Mary Rose Museum.

1.2 On 5 May 2008 the Leader of Hampshire County Council received a request from Rear Admiral John Lippiett, the Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust (MRT), for a financial contribution from Hampshire County Council towards the cost of building the new Museum of the Mary Rose in the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth.

1.3 The Mary Rose collection is historically unique and significant in the world, as recognised by renowned experts and academic institutions. She is the only recovered sixteenth century ship in the world and is in effect a "time capsule" of a period of English history. The proposal to build a new museum for the Mary Rose was motivated by the need to replace the temporary building housing the ship and the opportunity to reunite the ship and her contents.

1.4 The Mary Rose Museum is a key attractor within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which in turn is of key strategic importance to both Portsmouth and Hampshire's £2.3 billion tourism economy. The construction of a new £34m museum would entail the delivery of a significant project in Hampshire during a period of economic downturn. It will also attract additional domestic and international tourists, and associated spend to Hampshire over the long term through its enhancement of Hampshire as a tourist destination.

1.5 The County Council has stated that it would match on a `pound for pound' basis additional funding that the MRT gained, to meet a funding gap of £1.6m in order to meet the HLF Stage 2 Pass target of £10m. The MRT has confirmed that it anticipates having received cash or pledges up to the level of £8.5m by the end of June 2009. The MRT will therefore need to raise a further £0.7m beyond that level (to make £9.2m) which with the County Council's proposed matched funding of £800,000 would enable a start to be made.

1.6 Hampshire County Council funding support is conditional on the MRT working in partnership with Hampshire County Council services to deliver a full and varied `preferential offer' programme of learning, outreach and exhibition activities to Hampshire schools, museums and community groups.

1.7 The MRT will invite a senior museum education specialist from the County Council to become a Trustee Director to represent the interests of the County Council in addition to the current Member Trustee.

2. Contextual Information

2.1 The warship the Mary Rose was built in Portsmouth in 1510 for King Henry VIII, and became the flagship of the British Navy. She served for 35 years before her tragic loss off Portsmouth, when she sank in full view of land with the loss of five hundred lives during a battle with the French.

2.2 On 14th May 1966, the first modern dive was made on the wreck site of the Mary Rose. That dive, was the first of many thousands looking for evidence of the wreck, and led ultimately to the ship being raised in 1982 and taken to No. 3 Drydock, next to HMS Victory, for conservation and later display.

2.3 While the Mary Rose was being excavated, around 20,000 artefacts were found in the wreck, most of them in an almost miraculous state of preservation. It was not possible to house this unique treasure trove of Tudor artefacts with the ship as there was no space around the drydock available at the time. They were removed to No.5 Boathouse, a historic wooden building in its own right. This became the museum of the Mary Rose, which opened in 1984 with around 1,000 of the artefacts raised from the Mary Rose on display.

2.4 The Mary Rose collection is historically unique and significant in the world, as recognised by renowned experts and academic institutions. She is the only recovered sixteenth century ship in the world and given the standard of presentation is in effect a "time capsule" of this period of extraordinary change in English history. Henry VIII is in effect the only monarch with a link to both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (David Starkey)

3. Key Issues

3.1 A long term future for the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

3.2 The proposal to build a new Mary Rose Museum

3.3 The potential benefits of the new museum to Hampshire's Tourist Economy

3.4 Current learning and outreach in Hampshire and the preferential offer to Hampshire Schools and Community Groups

4. Mary Rose and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

4.1 Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is an attraction of exceptional quality and importance and probably represents the finest authentic maritime heritage attraction in the world. It represents one of the few surviving legacies of the great age of sail and its buildings and docks are of great historic and architectural significance. Today, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is the home of The Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860, some of the most famous historic ships in the world and a number of other high quality visitor attractions. The Mary Rose is one of the key `attractors' within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and is therefore of key strategic significance to this site.

4.2 The Historic Dockyard is of key strategic importance to both Portsmouth and Hampshire's £2.3 billion tourism economy. It is an attraction of national significance and appeal and attracts over 400,000 visitors per annum. It is therefore a major driver of tourism in Hampshire and the wider South East region.

4.3 The County Council has had a long association with the MRT and the Historic Dockyard and has strongly supported the development of the Dockyard as an important tourism and cultural asset for the wider Hampshire community. Since 1974, the County Council has contributed £603,000 towards the Mary Rose project, including a grant of £100,000 in 2003 towards the second phase of the Mary Rose hull conservation. The former Head of Museums & Archives for Hampshire County Council, Caroline Dudley, has chaired the Curatorial Advisory Committee of the MRT at the request of the Chief Executive of the MRT in response to conditions laid down by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and also has a seat on the Executive Committee. The Learning, Access and Interpretation section of the County Council's Museums and Archives Service works closely with the education department of the MRT, and details of the MRT's educational contribution to Hampshire and its schools are contained Appendix C accompanying this report.

5. A Long-Term Future for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

5.1 A report by Locum Consulting in 2005 (which included the County Council as a consultee) highlighted that the key strength of the Historic Dockyard as a visitor destination is the quality of its main `attractors', which include the Mary Rose. They highlighted that the Historic Dockyard needed to focus on refreshing and improving its current attractions to ensure that it could continue to effectively compete in the visitor attraction marketplace. A new museum for the Mary Rose was highlighted as the top priority project for the Historic Dockyard.

5.2 The report also led to the formation of the Dockyard Heritage Executive Group in 2007. Formed from the Chief Executives of the Trusts and the Naval Base Commander, and with an independent chair, this group has enabled increased strategic management of the Dockyard and the development of improved project prioritisation. This will maximise the unique attributes of the Dockyard to show the Royal Navy, Past and Present, which no other attraction in the United Kingdom can achieve. The County Council and major national funding bodies had made it clear that without this improved co-operation, co-ordination and coherence they would not consider additional major investment or funding support.

5.3 The aspiration is for the new Mary Rose Museum to be supported by additional product development within the Historic Dockyard, including a Modern Navy gallery for the Royal Naval Museum, a secure future for Monitor M33 (owned by Hampshire County Council), refurbishment and new uses for Boathouse 4 and The Block Mills, as well as supporting events. Portsmouth City Council also has plans for refurbishment and regeneration of The Hard Interchange. This will help consolidate the new Mary Rose Museum within a broader visitor destination product thereby minimising risk and enhancing long term benefits.

5.4 The Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust (the landowner of the visitor accessible area of Portsmouth Naval Base) is leading on a bid to secure World Heritage Site status for the Portsmouth seaboard area. This would include Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Such status would also help secure a long term future for the Historic Dockyard and minimise the risk of past and future investments.

5.5 PHD visitor projections up to 2013 are shown below. They propose a 3% compound growth year on year. The new Mary Rose Museum opening in 2012 is fundamentally important to the delivery of these. A decline in visits is anticipated in 2011 as a result of the building works associated with the Mary Rose Museum.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Visitor Number Projections

2013 462,000

2012 493,000

2011 443,000

2010 443,000

2009 429,982

2008 417,459

6. A New Mary Rose Museum

6.1 The proposal to build a new museum for the Mary Rose was motivated by the need to replace the temporary building housing the ship and the opportunity to reunite the ship and her contents. This would provide Hampshire with a world-class museum and preserve this extraordinary ship and all her treasures for future generations. It will also enable the development of an iconic cultural investment that will capture the public's attention and help re-enforce Portsmouth and Hampshire's identity as a place with a unique and growing cultural offer.

6.2 The ship is currently still being sprayed with chemicals to replace the water in her timbers. This operation is scheduled to be completed in 2011, after which the hull will be slowly dried out with conservation completed in 2016. All the apparatus and barriers surrounding the hull can then be removed and the public will have a much closer, fully illuminated view of the ship. 

6.3 Over 14,000 of the artefacts will be displayed in the new museum building (see Appendix F). These will be shown in their original positions in relation to their owners and present a vivid illustration of life on board a Tudor warship. A new learning centre is proposed which will quadruple the existing learning space, and new and improved laboratory and workshop facilities will further enhance the the Mary Rose's acknowledged position as an international Centre of Maritime Archaeology and Conservation - in effect a "Centre of Excellence".

6.4 On 5 January 2008 the Heritage Lottery fund (HLF) awarded the MRT £21 million towards the total project cost of £35 million. The Trust has to raise £14 million in match funding, and the HLF have indicated that they expect £10 million of that sum to have been raised in cash and pledges by June 2009, before the Trust will be allowed to make a start on the project. On 5 May 2008 the Leader of Hampshire County Council received a request from Rear Admiral John Lippiett, the Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust (MRT), for a financial contribution from Hampshire County Council towards the cost of building the new Museum. The MRT acknowledges the help it has already received from Hampshire County Council, but is looking for further assistance on the grounds of its present and potential contribution to the economic and cultural life of Hampshire. At 12 June 2009, £8.207 million had been pledged prior to the launch of a major public appeal in mid 2009. Planning approval for the development was granted by Portsmouth City Council in February 2009 which means the new museum is on schedule to open in early 2012, in time for the Olympics.

6.5 The MRT anticipates a gradual increase in visitors to the Mary Rose up to the opening of the new museum, as audience development initiatives begin to feed through. This assumes an increase of 10,000 per year on a base of 210,000 visitors a year up to 260,000 by the end of 2011. On the opening of the new museum, at a minimum, they expect to add a further 60,000 to the visitor numbers, giving a total of 320,000 a year in 2012.

6.6 Should the project not go ahead the hull and artefacts awaiting conservation will degenerate. The Ship Hall would also be closed to visitors as an attraction, having a major impact on the visitor draw of the Historic Dockyard and consequential impact on Portsmouth and Hampshire's tourism industry. The long-term future of the MRT would also be questionable.

7. The Potential Benefits to Hampshire's Tourism Economy

7.1 Hampshire County Council's Strategic Priorities for the Visitor Economy 2007-2012 highlights the importance of developing a strategic, market-focused approach to product development, `place shaping' and destination management. A New Mary Rose Museum would help deliver against these priorities by providing a major tourist attraction for the county and wider region that will generate additional spend into the Hampshire economy from both domestic and international visitors. The new museum will significantly enhance the appeal of the county as a tourist destination and help generate longer staying visits and therefore increased spend.

7.2 Hampshire's `visitor experience' is provided by a range of different organisations and calls for a significant level of partnership and cooperation between large and small businesses and the various public-funded agencies. The County Council is a significant player in shaping this `visitor experience' and through its investment in new visitor attraction product such as the MRT it can help ensure that Hampshire is able to compete with other destinations both at home and abroad. Without a new MRT Museum there is a risk that Hampshire could fall behind as a destination for cultural tourism.

7.3 The MRT development phase will provide a major construction project in its own right, delivering a significant number of job opportunities and contractor and sub-contract work in the Portsmouth and wider Hampshire area. This will help address the downturn in the construction sector. Also, the potential benefit to the wider economy of a new MRT museum should not be under-estimated. Significant visitor attractions ensure the viability of new hotels, restaurants and retail enterprises. They also help to develop and enhance an improved `sense of place' and are part of the mix that businesses look for when deciding on a location. Major companies are more likely to invest and locate in areas that offer an attractive, appealing and enriching environment for their employees.

8. Hampshire's Cultural Heritage

8.1 Museums are important drivers of tourism and a vital part of the visitor attraction business sector. Britain's museums and galleries are among the very best in the world and the Mary Rose is the only museum in Hampshire of international importance. Iconic attractions and a unique identity are important in order for destinations to differentiate their product in the market place. A new Mary Rose Museum can help Portsmouth and its wider Hampshire hinterland generate greater impact in this market place

8.2 The population of Portsmouth is expected to increase from 192,000 to 205,000 in the next 20 years and Hampshire is also forecasting significant growth, with a further 105,000 people living in the county by 2026. This increase offers both an obligation and an opportunity to contribute to increase Hampshire's cultural provision to meet the needs of the local population as issues of local identity and "belonging" are increasingly seen as important factors around community cohesion.

8.3 The recent report by Roger Tym and Partners, Assessment of the Contribution of Museums, Libraries and Archives to the Visitor Economy in the South East (July 2008) states "the tourist visitors to museums, libraries and archives spend £229,981,260 in the South East's visitor economy. The vast majority of this expenditure is attributed to museum visits (£223,794,525 or 97%)"

8.4 The risk associated with financially supporting the MRT museum is limited. Visits to museums have been sustained over the long-term within the United Kingdom as they have sustained popular appeal. The Historic Dockyard has a long track record of sustaining and growing its audience numbers which should ensure that Hampshire County Council receives a significant return on its investment.

9. Current Mary Rose Trust Learning and Outreach in Hampshire

9.1 The Mary Rose Trust has a highly-developed learning department which was shortlisted for the national Museum and Heritage Show Award for Excellence (Educational Initiative) 2008 and has won the Ruth Borthwick Award for Science Education in Museums 2008. The Trust specialises in the following areas: Tudor history, science relating to the Mary Rose, maritime archaeology, work-related learning, special needs provision (including moderate to profound learning difficulties), community outreach.

9.2 Hampshire residents already benefit from services provided by the Mary Rose Trust. Eighty Hampshire LEA schools and colleges visited the Mary Rose in the academic year 2007/2008 for discovery visits and workshops. Community outreach visits to a wide variety of disadvantaged groups also regularly take place, such as hospices; stroke association groups and day services.

9.3 A breakdown of current learning, outreach and training activities by the MRT is listed in Appendix C.

10. Preferential Offer to Hampshire Schools and Community Groups

10.1 A condition of County Council funding support will be that the MRT will work in partnership with all County Council services to deliver a full and varied programme of activities. This would include a `preferential offer' for Hampshire schools and community groups. These activities will be unique to Hampshire and additional to the current activity highlighted above and in Appendix D.

11. Governance

11.1 The MRT is governed by its Members and Trustee Directors. The Members are effectively the `shareholders' of the Trust, whilst the Trustee Directors have executive authority to conduct Trust business. At the invitation of the MRT, Hampshire County Council has long provided a Member to sit on the Trust. This is currently Councillor Alan Rice. In order to strengthen the relationship between the Trust and the County Council, the MRT would also like to invite a senior museum education specialist from the County Council to become a Trustee Director. This would enable the Trust to benefit from the County Council's expertise in the museum education sector and enhance partnership working between both organisations.

12. World Heritage Status

12.1 The MRT will need to commit fully to the process for establishing World Heritage Site status for Portsmouth Harbour. Clearly this needs to be done as a site, but as one of the key attractions in the Dockyard the MRT are well placed to move this on.

13. Financial Implications

13.1 The HLF have stated that they wish to see £10m of match-funding in place to allow them to give a Stage 2 Pass. The County Council has stated that it would match on a `pound for pound' basis additional funding that the MRT gained, to meet a funding gap of £1.6m in order to meet the HLF target. The MRT has confirmed that it had raised £8.207m at 12 June 2009, and anticipates having received cash or pledges up to the level of £8.5m by the end of June 2009 (See Appendix D). The MRT will therefore need to raise a further £0.7m beyond that level (to make £9.2m) which with the County Council's proposed matched funding would enable a start to be made. Payment of the grant will be phased over the period of the construction works. The maximum that would be paid in 2009/10 is £500,000 and funding for future years would be reviewed in September 2009.

13.2 The funding would be subject to acceptance of a number of conditions highlighted in this report and an agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Hampshire County Council and the MRT. In the event that there are changed circumstances for the Trust or the Council, the Council would reserve the right to review any decision without notice.

14 Legal Implications

14.1 The County Council's power to make the financial contribution proposed is in S.14 Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. This enables a local authority to "make contributions towards expense incurred by any person in providing or maintaining a museum or art gallery in any place within England or Wales".

15 Conclusions

15.1 The Mary Rose Museum already plays a significant role in the cultural life of Hampshire and in its contribution to the wellbeing and quality of life of Hampshire residents and their sense of place, as well as the economic development of the county through tourism. The proposed new museum has the potential to improve on that contribution, while raising the profile and reputation of Hampshire. It is a project with which Hampshire could be proud to associate itself. However, it is important that the County Council and the MRT are able to enter into a close partnership in order that past and future investments can continue to benefit the Council Tax payers of Hampshire.

16. Recommendations

16.1 That a financial contribution of £800,000 towards the cost of creating the new Museum of the Mary Rose be approved. The funding would be subject to acceptance of the following conditions and an agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Hampshire County Council and the MRT

The grant would be conditional on the MRT

a) being paid the grant in stages agreed by the Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs in consultation with the Leader of Hampshire County Council, to meet construction costs on production of invoice or other defined outcomes. This enables the MRT to proceed with certainty that the contribution would be forthcoming and avoid Hampshire County Council in any difficulties around recovering the funds should the project fail. The maximum that would be paid in 2009/10 is £500,000 and would be contingent on the MRT raising £9.2m in cash and pledges. Funding for future years would be reviewed in September 2009

b) working in collaboration with the Hampshire County Council's Department for Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs in the promotion of culture and tourism in Hampshire and regarding Hampshire County Council Museums & Archives Service as a `first partner' in matters relating to collections, conservation and museum education

c) providing a `preferential offer' to Hampshire Schools. These would include workshops at no additional cost for Hampshire LEA primary schools and special schools, dedicated outreach boxes for primary and secondary schools and free INSET opportunities for teachers

d) extending its community outreach programme to include more special needs support groups, including senior citizens and activities in residential homes and day centres throughout Hampshire

e) developing an enhanced programme of lifelong learning opportunities

f) collaborating with the County Council's Museums Service to develop a programme that enabled the regular display of parts of the MRT collection at appropriate venues in the county

g) identifying opportunities for special discount arrangements and out of season open days for low income and disadvantaged groups in Hampshire

h) working with the County Council to maximise the opportunities for volunteers from Hampshire to contribute to operation of the new museum

i) engaging in procurement, construction and operational phases of the new museum that recognise the need to provide local employment opportunities for Hampshire residents over the long term

j) continuing to invite the County Council to nominate a councillor to sit as a Member of the MRT and inviting a senior education specialist from the County Council's Museum Service to become a Trustee Director

k) in collaboration with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard continuing to support the County Council's Tourism Section marketing campaigns, such as the `Defence of the Realm' military heritage site marketing consortium

l) advocating the creation of the dockyard as a World Heritage Site and continuing to develop its commitment as a centre of excellence for maritime archaeology and conservation

m) being fully committed to the principle of a unified brand for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and increased co-operation on management, infrastructure, services and finances with partner Trusts and the Royal Navy

n) accepting that the grant from Hampshire County Council should be acknowledged on all literature relating to the new museum and in a prominent place on any commemorative plaques or notices and in any publicity issued on the subject by the MRT

o) accepting that this agreement is documented in a Service Level Agreement, the detail of which to be agreed by the Director of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs, to be reviewed annually

Integral Appendix A

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Integral Appendix B

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

a) Equalities issues have been considered and no adverse impact identified. The new museum will be enhancing its work in disadvantaged and ethnic communities.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

a) The new museum will have no impact on crime and disorder.

3. Climate Change:

a) How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

The new museum will use leading edge construction techniques to minimise environmental impact

b) How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

The design and proposed operational management of the new museum incorporates a range of measures to minimise environmental impact