Hampshire County Council
Defence Heritage and Tourism Panel Item 3
21 September 1999
The Southampton Hall of Aviation
Report of the Director, County Museums Service
Contact: Stephen Locke, Ext 6300
1. Summary
1.1 At their meeting on 10 December 1998 the Defence Heritage and Tourism
Panel reviewed the history of financial support to the Southampton Hall
of Aviation and agreed that in view of the importance of this museum
(especially its collections) to the defence heritage and tourism policy
of Hampshire County Council, they would provide revenue support of
£15,000 p.a. towards the curation of the collection.
1.2 The Panel was concerned to ensure that this support was provided in the
context of a sustainable business plan for the Hall of Aviation and a
clear understanding of its role in the support of the Panel's policies.
The Panel noted that a specialist consultancy to review the progress and
business plan had been commissioned and a steering group convened by
Southampton City Council with the South Eastern Museums Service,
Hampshire County Council and the Hall of Aviation.
1.3 At their meeting of 8 June 1999, the Panel received an interim report
on the results of this work and agreed to release the first tranche of
£5,000 from the support earmarked for 1999/00.
1.4 The final draft of the report has now been considered by the steering
group. There are also three specialist reports, respectively about the
constitution, an assessment of the importance of the collections, and an
appraisal of the design and display of the Hall. A fourth specialist
report is being prepared: a market analysis and marketing plan.
1.5 The consultant will now proceed to finalize his report, but in view of
the findings to date and the response of the Southampton Hall of
Aviation it is recommended that the Panel release the final tranche of
£10,000 payable in 1999/00 and provide £15,000 in following years,
subject to annual review.
1.6 This recommendation is related to the following findings of the
consultancy and, equally importantly, the response from the Southampton
Hall of Aviation and Southampton City Council.
2. Importance of the collection
2.1 An independent expert opinion was provided by David W Lee, a past
Curator of Aircraft at the Imperial War Museum and Chairman of the
British Aviation Preservation Council. This report states that the
collection stands within the top 10-15% of aviation collections in the
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UK. It also emphasizes that all of the aircraft on display are relevant
to the story of aviation in the Solent area, a conclusion which is at
least as important to Hampshire as its national status.
3. Governance and management
3.1 The report highlights the dependence of the Hall of Aviation on the
commitment and enthusiasm of a relatively small number of people.
Especially it identifies the contribution of the Curator as one of the
key founders, developers and now the driving force within the museum.
This type of situation is not uncommon in independent museums, has
certain obvious advantages, but is not sustainable in the longer term.
The report highlights the need for the Hall to manage strategically the
transition from their current reliance on a great deal of voluntary
enthusiasm to a more assured situation.
4 Financial information
4.1 The report highlights the need for financial information to be presented
in a form which clearly highlights key measures and guides management
accordingly. This is equally important for the purposes of financial
supporters who need to easily understand the financial position without
the benefit of historical knowledge of the Hall's particular methods of
accounting.
5. Collections management
5.1 As mentioned in para 3.1 the collections are both nationally relevant
and important to Hampshire. The report does recommend however that the
choice of what is exhibited is reviewed in order to try and make space
for more public facilities (e.g. activities and corporate use which will
yield income) and ensure that key visitor categories get the best
possible experience. There is a clear implication that further
collecting must be highly selective and a method established to hold
reserve collections and refresh the public displays. This has important
space and financial implications.
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6. Income generation
6.1 The Report identifies opportunities to achieve more income through
developing retailing, public services and corporate use, but as
mentioned in para 6.1 this requires an element of re-design of the Hall.
Equally importantly it requires investment in management, staffing and
training. The critical recommendation in this section is to pursue
increased local authority support with both the City of Southampton and
Hampshire County Council in return for Service Level agreements which
demonstrate value-for-money in the Hall's support of key policies of the
City Council and County Council.
7. Visitors, business planning and marketing
7.1 The Report provides the basis for building on the existing platform of
visitor use and a specialist marketing report is being prepared. The
location of the Hall, adjacent to Ocean Village, and its immediate
environment are not ideal, and in particular, Ocean Village has not
provided the spill-over of visitors originally expected. Nevertheless,
as reported previously to the Panel, the Hall has decided that its best
interests are served in developing their existing premises and site,
which represents a considerable investment and has proved well capable
of displaying collections and attracting visitors; at least in the
medium term.
7.2 The Report suggests an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Although opportunities for HLF support are now more restricted, and must
be considered very realistically, the Report suggests that the new HLF
Access Fund might be targeted for improvements to the displays and their
interpretation.
8. Conclusions
8.1 The business planning consultancy for the Southampton Hall of Aviation
has lead to appraisal of many aspects of the Hall's governance,
management, operation and development. This process has involved senior
officers of Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council and the
South East Museums Service working directly with the Director and
Chairman of the Hall. This represents the closest discussion of the
Hall's position yet achieved between the key stakehholders and there is
now a great deal more mutual knowledge and shared ground.
8.2 The general picture is of a museum which has achieved a very great deal
since its creation; preserving a truly important collection and
attracting considerable public support in circumstances which are not
ideal.
8.3 The Hall is very dependent on the enthusiasm and commitment of a small
number of supporters and needs support for areas of management and
development which will improve its financial security.
8.4 The Director and Chairman have fully contributed to the study and have
with their board, started to respond to the recommendations. The
contribution of the Hall to Hampshire County Council's defence heritage
policy is clear, and revenue support on the scale originally envisaged
is justified.
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RECOMMENDATION
1. That the remaining tranche of £10,000, completing a grant of £15,000 in
the current year, be made to the Southampton Hall of Aviation.
2. That subject to a service level agreement, agreed with the Director,
County Museums Service, an annual grant of £15,000 be made from 2000/01.
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