1
AT A MEETING of the DEFENCE HERITAGE AND TOURISM PANEL of the POLICY
AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday 30
November 1999.
PRESENT:
Councillors: FA J Emery-Wallis CBE DL (Chairman); P J Chegwyn; A P
Collett; P R C Hutcheson; P C Langdon; M J Roberts; M L Sheehan.
90 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 1999 were
confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Signing To The Royal Armouries from M27 Motorway (Minute 85)
The Panel were pleased to learn that the required signing
works were due to be completed by 25 December 1999.
91 TOURISM AND DEFENCE OF THE REALM UPDATE
The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item
2 in the Minute Book) on progress concerning Defence of the
Realm and tourism activities since the last meeting.
Members supported each of the initiatives including those
involving New Hampshire, Gardens Promotion, Visitor Research
and the new Hampshire brochure. It was noted that the
continued funding of Hampshire Borders would need to be
approved by the Policy and Resources Grants Panel.
RESOLVED:
(i) That it be a recommendation to the Policy and
Resources Committee that the County Council's
commitment of £30,000 from the Defence Heritage and
Tourism Panel's budget to the Defence of the Realm
Marketing Consortium be continued in 2000/01 and
beyond until further notice.
(ii) That it be a recommendation to the Policy and
Resources Grants Panel that it continue to fund from
its 2000/01 budget both the Hampshire Borders
Consortium at a cost of £18,000 and the Hampshire
Borders Conference Office for a further year at a cost
of £8,500.
92 HMS DAEDALUS, LEE-ON-SOLENT
The Panel considered the report of the Director of Property,
Business and Regulatory Services (Item 3 in the Minute Book)
on the current position and marketing of this former Royal
Naval Air Station, the decision by Gosport Borough Council
to designate part of it as a conservation area and the study
being undertaken by English Heritage. It was reported that
the date set by the Ministry of Defence for expressions of
interest in the built part of the establishment had been
extended beyond 3 December 1999 to no fixed date in the New
Year.
During a full discussion the Panel welcomed the plan to
2
retain and reuse some of the historically important
buildings on the site and wished to explore with English
Heritage the possibility of further hangars being listed.
They were reminded that the Hovercraft Museum Trust had been
given financial assistance by the County Council to prepare
a feasibility study of a number of sites in Hampshire to
see which would be most suitable to accommodate the
Hovercraft Museum. The hangar buildings at HMS Daedulus
were one of the options being investigated.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the Panel very much welcomes the recent action
taken by Gosport Borough Council to designate an
important part of the former HMS Daedalus site at
Lee-on-Solent as a conservation area.
(ii) That a letter be sent to English Heritage in support
of their study into the historical importance of the
buildings and asking if they might consider listing
any further hangars.
(iii) That the Hovercraft Museum Trust be invited to
complete their feasibility study into a new site for
the Hovercraft Museum in order that the study,
together with a detailed financial appraisal, might
be considered at the next meeting of the Panel.
93 PRINCE CONSORT'S LIBRARY, ALDERSHOT - RENOVATION AND
IMPROVEMENT SCHEME
The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item
4 in the Minute Book) concerning the need for renovation and
improvements to the Prince Consort's Library at Aldershot
and on a request by the Aldershot Garrison that the County
Council share the costs of the required work.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the Panel recommend to the Regeneration of Older
Urban Areas Panel that a scheme be produced to carry
out renovations to the Prince Consort's Library with
the Aldershot Garrison.
(ii) That the County Council shares the estimated £22,000
costs equally with the Aldershot Garrison over the
financial years 2000/01 and 2001/02.
3
90 MOTOR TORPEDO BOATS 331 AND 71: SECURING THEIR FUTURE
The Panel considered the report of the Director, County
Museums Service (Item 5 in the Minute Book) reviewing
progress on the conservation and restoration of MTB 331 and
71. It was reported that MTB 71 had now been moved on a
short term basis to Gunboat Wharf in Portsmouth.
The Panel noted details of the provisional offer which had
been received from the British Military Powerboat Trust to
provide long term secure accommodation for the two vessels
at Marchwood. The Panel noted that, up until now, it had
been assumed that the County Council's two motor torpedo
boats would eventually be passed into the care of the
Coastal Forces Trust in Gosport, once the Trust had secured
suitable premises. Following a full discussion it was
RESOLVED:
(i) That the position on Motor Torpedo Boats 331 and 71 be
noted.
(ii) That discussions continue with the Coastal Forces
Trust and the British Military Powerboat Trust.
(iii) That a report recommending all the options for the
long term care of MTB 331 and 71 be made to the next
meeting of this Panel.
(iv) That in assessing the options, the Panel should
consider the extent to which each fits with the County
Council's Defence Heritage policy.
91 THE COLLECTION OF THE PORTSMOUTH ROYAL DOCKYARD HISTORICAL
TRUST
The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive and
Director, County Museums Service (Item 6 in the Minute Book)
on progress relating to the collection of the Portsmouth
Royal Dockyard Historical Trust.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the Panel's £30,000 contribution to the costs of
a curator to work on the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard
Historical Trust's collection be released to the Royal
Naval Museum subject to agreeing the terms of the job
with the County Museums Service.
(ii) That the Royal Naval Museum be informed that no more
financial requests should be made to Hampshire County
Council towards the curatorial costs of the Portsmouth
Royal Dockyard Historical Trust's collection.
4
90 UPDATE ON THE IMPACT OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENCE REVIEW IN
HAMPSHIRE
The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item
7 in the Minute Book) about the impact of the Strategic
Defence Review in Hampshire.
Members noted the present position concerning the Review on
a district by district basis. Their particular attention
was drawn to the future of the Royal Engineers main depots
currently at Chatham and Minley and were concerned to learn
that only one of these two depots was likely to remain.
Also, the Panel were advised that probably the biggest issue
for Hampshire concerned whether the intended two new large
aircraft carriers would be based in Portsmouth Harbour.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the County Council maintains its good links with
the MoD and the Services to ensure continuing
involvement in the decision making and implementation
process resulting from the Strategic Defence Review.
(ii) That Hampshire Members of Parliament be kept informed
about the implementation of the Review in Hampshire,
including the importance of retaining the Royal School
of Military Engineering at Gibraltar Barracks, Minley.
(iii) That the County Council, in partnership with other
authorities and agencies in Hampshire, continues to
closely monitor the detailed decision processes
resulting from the Review and ensures that the
Secretary of State is aware of the priorities and
concerns for Hampshire.
(iv) That the County Council liaises with Portsmouth City
Council, Gosport Borough Council and Portsmouth Naval
Base to ensure that measures within their control are
taken to enable the Royal Navy to base the proposed
two new large aircraft carriers in Portsmouth
Harbour.
91 HISTORIC LIBRARY AT THE INSTITUTE OF NAVAL MEDICINE,
GOSPORT - REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive,
County Librarian and County Archivist (Item 8 in the Minute
Book) on a proposal that the Panel's grant intended for the
Admiralty Library, Portsmouth be re-allocated to the
institute of Naval Medicine in Gosport.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the £15,000 allocated in this Panel's budget in
1999/00 to improving access to the Admiralty Library
in Portsmouth be reallocated to the Institute of
Naval Medicine towards the cost of cataloguing their
5
Library, linking it in with the Admiralty Library,
Gosport's Naval Collection and the Internet via an
appropriate computer networking system.
(ii) That the grant be given to the Institute of Naval
Medicine on the understanding that the Institute funds
the rest of the costs and does not approach the County
Council again for additional funding for cataloguing
its Historic Library.
92 HAMPSHIRE FARE
The Panel considered the report of the Head of Economic
Development (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on a proposal to
provide financial support to a new joint County Council and
Hampshire Fare tourism related project.
RESOLVED:
That the Panel allocate £10,000 in 2000/2001 towards a new
joint County Council and Hampshire Fare tourism project to
encourage visitors to explore the countryside of Hampshire
and enjoy the flavours of its local produce.
5mM881299
Top of this page
Hantsweb Homepage