Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 13

20 January 2005

Heritage Lottery Fund Application for Sir George Staunton Country Park, Havant

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: John Tickle ext. 6000 e-mail: [email protected]

1. Background

1.1 In 2003 Hampshire County Council stepped in to secure the future of Staunton Country Park by purchasing the freehold of the site from Portsmouth City Council. This demonstrated the clear commitment of the County Council to this site based upon its long standing involvement in the joint management partnership supporting the Park.

1.2 The contribution and capacity of the Park to act as a highly effective community and heritage asset has been recognised in three previous successful bids to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

1.3 There is now the opportunity to use the purchase price of the Park as match funding for a further bid to invest in this important site. In so doing the intention is to maximise its potential, not only as a heritage attraction of national significance, but also as a venue which strongly supports the local community in an area of Hampshire facing many challenges.

1.4 There is a `window of opportunity' for any such bid which has to be received before the end of the first week in January. Beyond this point the purchase costs become ineligible as match funding.

2.1 This proposal fully supports both the Recreation and Heritage Department and Corporate objectives, in particular by fully utilising previous investment and in direct support of the Corporate Strategy in terms of stewardship of the environment (Aim 2), maximising life opportunities (Aim 1) and supporting economic prosperity (Aim 3).

2. The Proposal

2.1 In summer of 2004 the Leader of the Council formally opened the most recent additions to the site in the form of a conference and education centre as well as improved catering facilities, all of which was actively supported by the HLF.

2.2 In order to consolidate the achievements so far and maximise the potential of the site, a bid is proposed which will create new and restored facilities including access improvements in Leigh Park Gardens, pineapple pits, a melon house and productive glasshouses, as well as a visitor interpretation centre in the Gothic Library.

2.3 This will fully complement the existing facilities and significantly improve access, education, training and the productivity on the site. If successful the result will be a Park and attraction that is unique of its kind.

2.4 Appendix 1 shows the outline figures which relate to the bid. The major portion of match funding is met by the sunk costs of acquisition (£325,000) and the residual capital cash contribution (£110,000) will need to be met over a five year period.

3. Implications

3.1 In order to prepare for this bid the County Council was successful in obtaining a Project Planning Grant from the HLF earlier in 2004. The grant supported a great deal of work in terms of outline design and feasibility, archaeological investigation and audience development.

3.2 This work has been undertaken, as in previous bids, by a multi-disciplinary team of staff from across the relevant departments. Assistance and involvement has been received, and appreciated, from Property, Business & Regulatory and Environment staff in addition to colleagues within the Recreation and Heritage Department.

3.3 In order to meet the necessary deadlines, a Stage 1 Application was made just before Christmas, but will not be formally determined by the HLF Board until June or July 2005 at the earliest. Subject to a positive reception from the HLF the County Council will not be required to enter into any binding contractual arrangements until up to a year after that point.

3.4 The financial implications are set out in Appendix 1. If successful the capital requirement over and above the sunk costs will be funded and met from Recreation and Heritage capital allocations over a 5 year period. The revenue impact of the project has been assessed and is estimated at approximately £12,000 per annum in terms of property management and associated costs which will be met from existing maintenance and staffing budgets.

3.5 If the HLF are minded to support this bid the County Council will be required to submit a Stage 2 Application which will provide more detailed information. Implementation is unlikely to start until 2007.

3.6 Irrespective of the outcome of this bid the work undertaken so far, much of it 100% funded by the HLF, has been extremely valuable and will be of direct benefit to the future development of the site.

4. Impact Assessment

A requirement of this bid is that the County Council demonstrates its commitment to equality and accessibility issues and this has been incorporated in the application.

Recommendations

It is requested that the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage:

1) Fully supports the Stage 1 Application process currently underway with the Heritage Lottery Fund.

2) Confirms Hampshire County Council's formal and ongoing commitment to this bid and its position as the organisation's priority bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for 2005.

3) Subject to the final response of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and within the financial parameters set out in this report, confirm the willingness of the County Council to fulfil the normal contractual obligations associated with a successful bid.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE LOCATION

APPENDIX 1

DRAFT

Staunton Country Park Lottery Bid - Financial Implications

The total value of the project is currently estimated at £2.04 million. The HLF is being asked to grant £1.46 million towards these costs. The balance will be met by cash and "in kind" contributions, principally from the County Council. The following table summarises the costs of the main elements of the project and proposed funding arrangements:

The pre-contract phase will refine the details of the project and costings in advance of the stage 2 submission in just over 12 months time. If the HLF approves that bid the bulk of the work will get underway later in 2006 and will carry on throughout 2007.

The funding package requires an additional capital contribution of approximately £113,000 from the County Council. Provision for this will need to made in the Recreation and Heritage capital programme over a five year period starting in 2005/06.

The additional maintenance costs associated with the project will be built into future business plans for the Park.