Item 3 Glasgow City Council 24th January 2013 Executive Committee
Report by Councillor Archie Graham, Depute Leader of the Council
Contact: Annemarie O’Donnell, Executive Director of Corporate Services, Ext: 74522
PROPOSAL TO PROMOTE A PRIVATE BILL IN RELATION TO THE BURRELL COLLECTION
Purpose of Report:
To seek approval from the Executive Committee to promote a private bill in order to lift the restriction on overseas lending of the Burrell Collection.
Recommendations:
The Executive Committee is asked to:
1. Approve the promotion of a private bill in order to lift the restriction on overseas lending of the Burrell Collection; and 2. Refer this matter to the Council for approval in accordance with Standing Orders and s82 of the Local Government (Scotland ) Act 1973
Ward No(s): Citywide: 9
Local member(s) advised: Yes No consulted: Yes No
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1.1 Sir William Burrell (1861 – 1958) was a Glaswegian shipping magnate who combined his business acumen with collecting art. He was also an Elected Member of the Corporation of the City of Glasgow in the early 1900s. In the 1920s and 1930s Sir William gave active consideration to the future of his Collection and his final decision to gift the Collection to his home city is the largest single gift by one man of art treasures to one City. Following this gift he was awarded the Freedom of the City.
1.2 Sir William gifted his Collection to the City by way of a 1944 Deed of Gift. Two of the main conditions were:-
i. The Collection could only be lent in Great Britain due to Sir William’s concerns about the dangers and risks associated with items travelling abroad; and
ii. The Collection was to be housed as a separate Collection within four miles of Killearn and more than sixteen miles from Glasgow Royal Exchange due to his concerns about the vulnerability of parts of the Collection as a result of pollution in City in the 1940s, and the fact that he wanted his Collection to be viewed in a rural setting.
1.3 The Burrell Collection consists of around 8000 items and the areas covered by the Collection are outstanding representative samples of their kind, comparable in quality to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London or the Metropolitan Museum of New York. The tapestries, stained glass and French paintings have acknowledged international importance.
1.4 On Sir William’s death in 1958, he established a Trust and appointed Trustees to purchase suitable items which they would then donate to the Council to add to the Burrell Collection. Sir William made it a condition that these items could only be lent in Great Britain but, in addition, he specified that pastels, tapestries, carpets, rugs, needlework, lace or other textiles purchased by the Trustees could not be lent at all.
1.5 The Burrell Collection is in the ownership of Glasgow City Council and is managed on its behalf by Glasgow Life.
2. HOUSING OF COLLECTION AND REFURBISHMENT OF THE BURRELL MUSEUM
2.1 The Burrell Collection is housed in the custom built and award winning Burrell Museum in Pollok Park which was opened by HM the Queen in 1983. It took 22 years to find an appropriate site as a result of the condition stipulated by Sir William in his 1944 Deed of Gift. The Trustees agreed to vary the original Deed of Gift condition to allow the Burrell Collection to be housed at Pollok Park due to the fact that pollution was no longer considered an issue following the introduction of the Clean Air Act 1956. 2.2 The building is architecturally distinguished and Historic Scotland is in the process of granting it listed status. However, the roof and environmental conditions now require significant attention and the building needs to be refurbished to ensure its long term sustainability. A Business Case to support its refurbishment is in development and, if approved, the programme for refurbishment would mean that the Burrell Collection would require to be placed in storage for the period of the renovation of the Building. This would mean that the Collection would not be available to be viewed by the public for a period of approximately 4 years. There is therefore a desire to lend works from this internationally significant collection not only within the UK but also to overseas institutions during this period and beyond.
2.3 It is recognised that in the current public financial environment capital sums to assist in the financing of the refurbishment will be restricted. Glasgow Life believes that a major tour would assist in generating partnerships and a profile that would support the fund-raising for a renovation programme for the Burrell Building.
3. REASONS FOR VARYING THE CONDITIONS
3.1 A change in the restriction to lend the Burrell Collection abroad would not only allow an ability to generate income for the refurbishment of the Burrell Building but would also:
x facilitate scholarly research; x offer greater international access to the Collection; x promote international partnerships by making it possible for Glasgow to develop reciprocal loans and exhibitions; and x allow the Council to continue to protect and increase the legacy of Sir William Burrell.
Therefore, regardless of any potential refurbishment, the arguments for lending overseas are strong.
3.2 Great consideration has also been given to the reasons why Sir William created the restriction on lending the Collection abroad and to addressing these issues. Sir William Burrell was concerned about the risks of the Collection travelling from institution to institution but he regarded the risks of travelling by train and motorcar as less dangerous than travel overseas. As a ship-owner at that time he was aware of the dangers (wartime or otherwise) of travel by boat, and civilian air transport was barely developed. There is a significant difference between the types, volume of transport and the risks posed by transport in the 1940s and 1950s and the conditions prevailing now in the 21st century. The specialist transportation companies have evolved air conditioned vehicles, climate controlled warehousing, specialist couriers and specialist packing.
3.3 In addition to the above, developments in conservation have vastly changed the conditions for both the display of objects and their storage and transport. In particular, modern packing materials offer infinitely greater protection than was available to Sir William Burrell. Standards for lending are laid down in the Accreditation Scheme for museums.
3.4 Lastly, the Burrell Trustees varied the condition to require the Collection to be housed more than 16 miles from the City Centre due to the improvement in conditions in the City following the Clean Air Act 1956 and there is therefore a precedent to changing conditions.
4. DISCUSSIONS WITH BURRELL TRUSTEES AND INTERNATIONAL TOUR
4.1 The Glasgow Life Board appointed a consultant to produce a paper exploring the options for touring the Collection and this was shared with the Burrell Trustees to ascertain their views as it was recognised that full consultation with the Trustees was required. Following various discussions with the Chief Executive of Glasgow Life, the Burrell Trustees have confirmed that they are agreeable to a one off Lending Tour and to overseas lending in the longer term, but all within a lending framework between the Council, Glasgow Life and the Trustees which ensures that the safety and security of items is paramount, and involves consulting and agreeing any overseas tours with the Burrell Trustees.
4.2 The British Museum has booked the King’s Library space for an exhibition from The Burrell Collection. They have asked for a minimum duration of six months in recognition of the significance and impact of the exhibition. In terms of any international tour, the maximum number of venues in addition to the British Museum is likely to be five and Glasgow Life anticipates that only the largest and most prestigious institutions will be able to mount such a show.
5. LEGAL PROCESS
5.1 The legal mechanism to vary the restrictions on overseas lending in the Trust is by the promotion of a private bill in the Scottish Parliament. A private bill is introduced by a Promoter (in this case Glasgow City Council). The role of Parliament is to consider the bill and to arbitrate between the promoter and objectors.
5.2.1 As well as seeking approval from the Council’s Executive Committee to promote a private bill, approval is required from a majority of the Members of the Council to confirm its intention to promote the bill and this must then go back to the Council for approval a second time to confirm promotion of the bill and the contents of the bill all in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders and s82 of the Local Government Scotland Act 1973.
5.3 The proposed bill will permit the Council to lend the Burrell Collection overseas but this will be subject to the terms of a Lending Agreement between the Council, Glasgow Life and the Trustees which will set out the framework around lending consultation and governance arrangements in securing agreement to any overseas tours.
5.4 Consultation
In promoting a private bill, the promoter of the bill must consult on the bill’s objectives and details of the consultation must be included with the bill together with written consultation responses.
Key Consultees are : -
x The Burrell Trustees x Glasgow City Council x Glasgow Life
Other Consultees will be:-
x National Museums Directors Conference (covering all UK Museums) x Hamilton Trustees x Museum Galleries Scotland x Museums Association x The High Museum, Atlanta
Informal discussions will also take place with a number of organisations:- x The Art Fund x The Heritage Lottery Fund x Friends of Glasgow Museums
There will also be an opportunity for the public to comment at the Burrell where information around the proposal will be available together with comment cards.
5.5 Next Steps and Timetable
A timetable detailing the key milestones for both progressing the legislation required to amend the restrictions and to progress the planning of the international tour is detailed in Appendix 1.
5.6 Briefing Note
A detailed Briefing Note has been placed in the Members Library that sets out in more detail the history and processes referred to in this Committee Report. 6. Council Strategic Plan Implications
Economic Impact: N/A
Sustainability: N/A
Financial: A fee of £5000 is paid to promote the bill together with fees of external legal advisors.
Legal: A legal process must be followed to promote a private bill in accordance with s 82 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Personnel: N/A
Sustainable Procurement N/A and Article 19:
7. Recommendations
The Executive Committee is asked to:
1. Approve the promotion of a private bill in order to remove the restriction on overseas lending of the Burrell Collection; and
2. Refer this matter to the Council for approval in accordance with Standing Orders and s82 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. APPENDIX 1 LEGAL PROCESS – PROPOSED TIMELINE (TBC)
Consultation with Burrell Trustees June – December 2012
Executive Committee 24 January 2013
Notice published for GCC Council Meeting (at least 10 11 February 2013 days in advance of Meeting)
GCC Council Meeting (pass resolution by majority of 21 February 2013 members)
Advertisement of intention to promote private bill in As soon as possible after 21 libraries (at least 2 weeks prior to Introduction of bill) February 2013 and newspapers (twice at least one week apart)
Lodge bill and accompanying documents with NGBU Spring 2013
Introduction of bill Spring 2013
GCC Council Meeting (pass resolution by majority of 4 April 2013 members – at least 14 days after bill introduced)
60 Day objection period March to May 2013
Consideration of bill Summer 2013
Final Stage Autumn 2013
Royal Assent (if bill passed) Autumn 2013
Planning and contractual arrangements for International 2013/2014 Touring Exhibition
International Touring 2016 onwards