Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. To authorise acceptance of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the development of Basing House, and to enter into a contract with National Heritage Memorial Fund to agree to meet their terms and conditions of grant. To authorise the addition of £1,313,000 to the Recreation & Heritage Capital Programme.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1. The award by HLF of a Stage 2 pass for the Basing House project.

2.2. The intended programme of work.

2.3. Statutory consents.

2.4. Financial implications.

3) Recommendations:

3.1 That Hampshire County Council's Recreation & Heritage Department accepts the offer from the Heritage Lottery Fund of a grant of £1,071,000 towards the development of the Basing House and Grange Farm site at Old Basing (collectively to be known as `Basing House History Park').

3.2 That Hampshire County Council enters into a contract with the National Heritage Memorial Fund for the express purpose of delivering the objectives defined in HCC's Stage 2 application to the HLF, dated September 2008 and also signs, if required, a deed of dedication in which HCC covenants not to use the property for anything other than the project funded by the lottery without the HLF's consent.

3.3 That it be a recommendation to Cabinet that £1,313,000 be added to the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme for the implementation stage of the project.

3.4 That the following recommendations made by the HCC Regulatory Committee on 26 November 2008 are considered:

a) That a Liaison Panel for Grange Farm/Basing House be established to guide the implementation of the proposals, to involve County Councillors, the Museums Service, representatives of local residents and neighbours.

b) That further consideration be given to the feasibility of an alternative access route to Basing House from Grange Farm.

and that

recommendation a) be adopted

recommendation b) be rejected on the grounds that the feasibility of providing an alternative public entrance to Basing House, which avoids Garrison Gate, has been thoroughly investigated and found to be impracticable for the foreseeable future.

MAIN REPORT

1. Background

1.1 On 8 December 2008 the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) gave a Stage 2 pass to the plans for the conservation and development of Basing House and Grange Farm at Old Basing, collectively to be known in future as `Basing House History Park'.

1.2 The pass confirmed the award of an HLF grant of £1,071,000 towards the implementation of the detailed plans drawn up during the development stage of the project (Stage 1), for which the HLF also provided support (£53,000. See the report to the Executive Member's Decision Day on 15 November 2007).

1.3 In addition, Hampshire County Council will contribute £630,000 from a variety of sources (see below).

1.4 The main responsibilities during the next stage of the project, estimated to take approx 18 months, will be to undertake the necessary conservation and conversion of buildings for a new visitors centre, learning suite and toilets, landscape and access improvements, new exhibition and interpretation aids, some archaeological investigations, recruitment of staff and volunteers and a marketing campaign. The History Park is expected to open to the public in Summer 2010.

2. Consents

2.1 Planning permission for the scheme was granted by HCC Regulatory Committee on 26 November 2008. Scheduled Monument Consent has been obtained from English Heritage and an application for Listed Building Consent has been sent to the Secretary of State with a recommendation for approval, which is expected at the end of January.

2.2 The Regulatory Committee made two recommendations to Recreation & Heritage Department, that :

· a Liaison Panel for Grange Farm/Basing House be established to guide the implementation of the proposals, to involve County Councillors, the Museums Service, representatives of local residents and neighbours.

· That further consideration be given to the feasibility of an alternative access route to Basing House from Grange Farm.

3. Design

3.1 Property Business and Regulatory Services' Architecture & Design team have developed detailed schemes for all building conservation and conversion works, and for landscape and access improvements.

3.2 The Museums Service has ambitious plans to explain the important and exciting history of Basing House to its future visitors. A new introductory exhibition space will be provided at the Grange Farm entry point and an innovative interpretation scheme will be adopted across the entire site. A specialist external consultant, PLB Projects Ltd, has developed a detailed plan for exhibition and interpretation for the purpose.

3.3 Outside of the present scheme, the Friends of Basing House, assisted by officers from Recreation & Heritage, are preparing a separate bid to the HLF for the specific purpose of updating and modernising the museum display at Basing House Lodge.

4. Project Management

4.1 Project management services will continue to be provided by Focus Consultants Ltd. The project manager will liaise between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the in-house Architects team, the in-house Museums team, external consultants and designers to monitor expenditure and to ensure work progresses smoothly so that it can be completed satisfactorily within in the allotted time and budget.

5. Archaeological Investigation

5.1 It is planned to create a new footbridge over the `citadel' ditch in the position of the original western gateway to Basing House. In order to understand more about the original entrance the Museums Service's Keeper of Archaeology will be undertaking investigations on the site during 2009, assisted by experienced volunteers from the local Basing House Archaeological Society.

6. Financial Implications

6.1 The total capital cost of the implementation stage is estimated at £1,313, 000 which will be met as follows:

	£'s
HLF grant	1,071,000
HCC contributions: Capital disposal already completed - Renaissance Hub for Museums -	192,000 50,000
	1,313,000

It is recommended that the total value of the implementation stage (£1,313,000) be added to the Recreation and Heritage capital programme.

6.2 It is currently estimated that the total costs for completing the project (including contingency) will be £1,862,862, of which £188,862 are sunk costs. The remaining costs of £361,000 for staff, volunteers and marketing are to be met from a combination of:

· Museums Service (largely from Renaissance Hub, currently awaiting confirmation)

· External fundraising

7. Outline of Options

7.1 A range of options was considered at the initiation stage of the project, from `do nothing' through `essential maintenance & basic conservation with small scale improvements to visitor facilities, like toilets' to `long term conservation programme with improvements to access, interpretation, education and visitor services and audience development'. The HLF award provides the opportunity for HCC to realise the latter vision.

8. Recommendations

Please see Executive Summary for recommendations.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

An impact assessment has been done on the project and the outcome is that it will have a positive impact in that it will improve both physical and intellectual access to Basing House for all sections of society.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

It has been considered and there are none.

3. Climate Change:

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

Increased visitor numbers to Basing House will inevitably mean an increase in car and bus journeys to the site, although HCC's own carbon footprint / energy consumption is unlikely to change significantly. There will be an increase in energy consumption at Grange Farm, where new visitor services facilities are to be created, but all development will be in line with current HCC and national standards and guidelines on energy consumption, use of sustainable materials etc.

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

Apart from the above there are no evident long term impacts.