ITEM CA14 CABINET - 17 APRIL 2007 SOLDIERS OF OXFORDSHIRE TRUST Report by the Head of Cultural & Adult Learning Services Purpose of report 1. To inform Cabinet of recent developments in a proposed partnership with the Soldiers of Oxfordshire to look after and promote access to the county’s military heritage, and to gain approval for a memorandum of understanding relating to the partnership. Background 2. The Soldiers of Oxfordshire (SOFO) Trust is a partnership of regimental trusts which aims to preserve Oxfordshire’s military heritage – in the form of museum objects and archives – and to make it available to the public for interest, education and research. 3. The County Council’s heritage services have for some years worked with the Trust to support it in achieving these aims. In September 2003 the County Council agreed in principle that the Trust’s collections, currently stored with poor public access at the Slade Barracks in Headington, should eventually be housed in the Museums Resource Centre (MRC) at Standlake, subject to funding and implementation of Phase II development of the MRC. The Council further decided that, should such storage prove possible in an enlarged MRC, no charge should be made to SOFO for storage, but staff time for care and maintenance of the collection should be charged at cost. Recent Developments 4. A first stage bid has now been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to design and build Phase II of the Museums Resource Centre. The outcome of that application will be known by September 2007, and if successful a full application will be submitted before the end of the year. 5. It is also now known that the Ministry of Defence intends to dispose of the Slade Barracks, and the SOFO collections will probably have to move to temporary accommodation in early 2008. 6. It is still considered desirable that a long-term home for the SOFO collections be provided in an enlarged Oxfordshire Museums Resource Centre as originally agreed. Discussions with the SOFO Trust have led to a refinement of that proposal and emergence of a further ambition, which was the possibility of permanent public exhibition space for parts of the collection at the Oxfordshire Museum at Woodstock. 7. SOFO have secured a pledge from a private source of a substantial amount of funding. They propose to make £250,000 of this available to the County Council as a contribution to the capital cost of MRC Phase II. At the same time it is recognised that the costs associated with the care of the collections can be absorbed into planned MRC staffing and an on-going charge for these would not be necessary. A Three-stage Partnership 8. A draft memorandum of understanding is attached at Annex 1 (download as .doc file). It proposes a three-stage approach to working with the SOFO Trust. Each stage or part is self-contained and progression between them will depend on circumstances. 9. The first part is contingent on successfully securing the funds to build Phase II of the MRC and is in line with the existing in-principle agreement to house the SOFO collections at the MRC. It differs in two respects: the contribution by SOFO to the capital costs, and the waiving of any on-going charge by the Council for care of the collections. 10. If the Lottery bid for MRC Phase II should fail, or the scheme not proceed for any other reason, alternative options for housing the SOFO collections at the Standlake site, funded by the Trust, would be explored. 11. The second stage envisages periodic use of the learning centre at the Oxfordshire Museum to provide “surgeries” staffed by SOFO volunteers, at which the public can obtain access to and guidance about SOFO archives and other information. It would also trial the exhibition of some of the SOFO collection in one of the Museum galleries, with a view to creating a permanent exhibition there and possibly creating touring exhibitions to visit other venues in the county. SOFO would make £105,000 available to meet the costs of this stage. 12. Depending on public interest in the exhibition created in Part 2, the third stage would go on to test the feasibility of a permanent space dedicated to exhibiting the SOFO collections at the Oxfordshire Museum. If this proves to be a viable proposition, consistent with overall ambitions for the Museum’s development at that time, then a joint campaign to raise funds from the public would be undertaken. SOFO would earmark £55,000 of the funds already pledged to this campaign. Financial Implications 13. All discussions with the SOFO Trust have made it clear that proceeding with the initiatives at Woodstock would be on the basis of no additional revenue or capital cost to the County Council. 14. SOFO’s offer of £250,000 towards the cost of MRC Phase II has been a significant factor in limiting the amount of capital funding required from the County Council. RECOMMENDATIONS 15. Cabinet is recommended to: (a) note the developments in forming a partnership with the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust; (b) agree that in the event of the SOFO collections being housed in an enlarged Museums Resource Centre, no charge should be made to SOFO for routine care and maintenance of the collections; and, (c) approve the Memorandum of Understanding attached at Annex 1 to the report. RICHARD MUNRO Background papers: Soldiers of Oxfordshire - Report to County Council Executive (30 September 2003). Contact Officer: Richard Munro, Head of Cultural & Adult Learning Services, Tel: (01865) 810191 April
2007
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