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THIS AGREEMENT Is Made the BETWEEN (1) the COUNCIL of the BOROUGH of DARLINGTON (2) the COUNTY COUNCIL of DURHAM (3)

THIS AGREEMENT Is Made the BETWEEN (1) the COUNCIL of the BOROUGH of DARLINGTON (2) the COUNTY COUNCIL of DURHAM (3)

THIS AGREEMENT is made the BETWEEN

(1) THE COUNCIL OF THE OF (2) THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF DURHAM (3) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF GATESHEAD (4) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF (5) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF (6) THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF (7) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF (8) THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF (9) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF AND (10) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF (11) THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF STOCKTON-ON-TEES (12) THE COUNCIL OF THE

WHEREAS:-

(1) In this Agreement save where the context otherwise requires the following expressions shall have the following respective meanings

"the Constituent Authorities" the parties to this Agreement

"the Councils" the councils listed in the First Schedule hereto

"the Joint Committee" the joint committee constituted by Clause 3 of this Agreement

"the Museum" the museum known as Beamish - The North of England Open Air Museum, the subject of this Agreement

"the Plan" the plan annexed to this Agreement

"Financial Year" the period from 1st April in any year to 31st March in the following year

"the Permanent Collection" the items entered in the Museum's accessions register

(2) The Museum was established at Beamish in the County of Durham between 1968 and 1970 by the Councils under Section 12 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

(3) The premises comprising the Museum are owned by the County Council of Durham for an estate in fee simple.

(4) By an Agreement for a Lease dated 10th August 1972 the County Council of the Administrative County of Durham agreed to lease to the Councils the premises comprising the Museum.

(5) By a Lease dated 25th May 2001 the County Council of Durham leased to the Council of the City of Sunderland as nominee for and on behalf of the Joint Committee the premises shown edged red on the Plan for a term of fifty years.

(6) The premises shown edged blue on the Plan have been acquired by the Joint Committee for the purposes of the Museum and are held by the County Council of Durham on a bare trust for the Joint Committee.

(7) The Museum was administered by a joint committee constituted by an Agreement made between the Councils dated 24th June 1970 to which the Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the of Sunderland acceded by a supplemental Agreement dated 15th February 1974.

(8) The Councils and the Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of Sunderland ceased to exist on 1st April 1974 by virtue of section 1(10) of the Local Government Act 1972.

(9) By article 9 (6) of the Local Authorities etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 1976 made under the Local Government Act 1972 the Museum was transferred to the County Council of Durham to be held for the joint use and benefit of the County Council of Cleveland, the County Council of Durham, the County Council of Northumberland and the County Council of .

(10) The Museum was administered by a joint committee constituted by an Agreement dated 31st December 1979 and made between the County Council of Cleveland the County Council of Durham the County Council of Northumberland and the County Council of Tyne and Wear.

(11) By section 1 of the Local Government Act 1985 the County Council of Tyne and Wear ceased to exist on 1st April 1986.

(12) By section 62 of the Local Government Act 1985 the rights and liabilities of the County Council of Tyne and Wear in respect of the Museum were on 1st April 1986 vested in the Tyne and Wear Residuary Body.

(13) By article 6(1) of the Tyne and Wear Residuary Body (Winding Up) Order 1988 made under the Local Government Act 1985 the rights and liabilities of the Tyne and Wear Residuary Body in respect of the Museum were on 1st October 1988 vested in the Council of the Borough of South Tyneside for the benefit of the Council of the Borough of Gateshead, the Council of the City of Newcastle, the Council of the Borough of North Tyneside, the Council of the Borough of South Tyneside and the Council of the Borough of Sunderland (now the Council of the City of Sunderland).

(14) By article 3 of the Cleveland (Structural Change) Order 1995 the functions of the County Council of Cleveland were on 1st April 1996 transferred to the Council of the , the Council of the , the Council of the Borough of and the Council of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees.

(15) By article 3 of the Durham () (Structural Change) Order 1995 the functions of the County Council of Durham in relation to Darlington were on 1 April 1997 transferred to the Council of the Borough of Darlington.

(16) The Museum was administered by a joint committee constituted by an Agreement dated 11th November 1999 and made between the Constituent Authorities. The last mentioned Agreement expired on 31st March 2001 but the Constituent Authorities agreed that its provisions should continue in force until a new agreement was executed.

(17) By virtue of Section 12 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 the Constituent Authorities may provide and maintain museums within their administrative area or elsewhere in England and Wales and may do all such things as may be necessary or expedient for or in connection with the provision or maintenance thereof.

(18) By virtue of Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 the Constituent Authorities may arrange for the discharge of any of their functions (except the power of levying or issuing a precept for a rate or of borrowing money) by a joint committee thereof and by Section 103 of the Local Government Act 1972 the expenses incurred by such a joint committee shall be defrayed by the Constituent Authorities in such proportions as they may agree.

(19) The Constituent Authorities have resolved to continue to exercise their powers hereinbefore recited to provide and maintain an open air museum for the purpose of studying collecting preserving interpreting and exhibiting to the public buildings machinery objects and information illustrating the development of industry and agriculture and way of life in the north of England.

NOW THIS DEED WITNESSETH AND IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND DECLARED as follows:-

1. THE Museum shall be known as ‘Beamish - The North of England Open Air Museum’.

2. THE Objects of the Museum shall be studying collecting preserving interpreting and exhibiting to the public buildings machinery objects and information illustrating the development of industry and agriculture and way of life in the north of England.

3. A joint committee of local authorities under sections 101 and 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 is hereby constituted of thirty-four members appointed by the Constituent Authorities in proportion to their respective revenue contributions to the Museum and it is hereby agreed that the representation of the Constituent Authorities shall with effect from the Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee in July in each Financial Year vary according to their respective revenue contributions as notified for that Financial Year in accordance with Clause 18(b).

4. THE Joint Committee shall be known as ‘The Joint Committee for the North of England Open Air Museum’ or ‘The Beamish Joint Committee’.

5. MEMBERS of the Joint Committee appointed by the Constituent Authorities must be members of the respective Constituent Authorities and any member of the Joint Committee who ceases so to be shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Joint Committee provided that a member of the Joint Committee shall not be deemed to have ceased to be a member of such one of the Constituent Authorities by which he was appointed if on or before the day on which he vacated office he has been re-elected a member of the same.

6. THE Constituent Authorities may nominate substitutes for their respective members and such substitutes may attend and vote at any meeting of the Joint Committee in place of an equivalent number of original members who are unable to attend or in respect of whom a casual vacancy exists provided that such substitutes shall be subject to the provisions of clause 5 hereof.

7. SHOULD any vacancy arise amongst the members appointed by one of the Constituent Authorities then such one of the Constituent Authorities shall appoint a member to fill the vacancy and in the intervening period before such appointment is made the remaining members shall nonetheless constitute the Joint Committee and shall have full power to conduct the business of the Joint Committee.

8. THE Joint Committee shall have power to co-opt members so however that the number of such co-opted members shall not exceed one third of the members appointed by the Constituent Authorities.

9. MEMBERS of the Joint Committee shall be appointed for a term of office of one year such term to commence with the Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee and to expire immediately before the Annual Meeting next following provided that a member (if still qualified in accordance with clause 5 hereof) shall continue in office until a successor has been appointed.

10. THE Joint Committee shall, either themselves or through their subsidiary companies, administer maintain and develop the Museum for the purposes set out in clause 2 hereof and may do all such things as they consider necessary or proper to facilitate such purposes and the Constituent Authorities hereby delegate to the Joint Committee their powers under Section 12 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 so far as they relate to the Museum.

11. THE meetings and proceedings of the Joint Committee shall be conducted in accordance with the rules set out in the Second Schedule hereto together with such further rules as the Joint Committee may from time to time prescribe with power to revoke or amend such further rules provided that nothing in this provision shall be construed as giving the Joint Committee power to amend or delete any of the provisions contained herein.

12. (a) THE Joint Committee shall appoint:- (i) Secretary (ii) Treasurer (iii) Personnel Adviser

such officers to be appointed from full-time officers of the Constituent Authorities together with such other staff as they consider necessary.

(b) The Joint Committee may delegate to their subsidiary companies, officers and staff such of the Joint Committee’s powers as the Joint Committee think fit.

13. THE Joint Committee may from time to time agree with one or more of the Constituent Authorities for such one or more of the Constituent Authorities to enter into any contract on behalf of the Joint Committee on such terms as may be agreed between them.

14. (a) Monies required to meet capital expenditure incurred on any account for the purposes of the Museum may at the request of the Joint Committee be provided by any of the Constituent Authorities which shall be reimbursed by the Joint Committee on the basis of the loan charges or notional loan charges payable in respect thereof.

(b) Any of the Constituent Authorities which incur expenditure at the request and on behalf of the Joint Committee shall be reimbursed by the Joint Committee.

15. ANY government grant or grant from any other body which is received in respect of the Museum shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the purposes of the Museum set out in clause 2 hereof.

16. THE Constituent Authorities agree that the Joint Committee shall have the power to make and guarantee contributions to pension funds for the benefit of its employees and the employees of its subsidiary companies.

17. THE Joint Committee shall prepare and revise annually a three year capital programme for the Museum.

18. (a) The Joint Committee shall before 1st February in each year provide the Constituent Authorities with the outline financial plans for the Museum for the following Financial Year together with the implications for the Constituent Authorities’ contributions and will invite the Constituent Authorities to incorporate those contributions in their respective budgets for the following Financial Year.

(b) Each of the Constituent Authorities shall inform the Treasurer of the Joint Committee before 31st March in each year of their revenue and capital contributions to the Museum for the following Financial Year.

(c) Each of the Constituent Authorities shall make such revenue contributions on 1st April each Financial Year.

(d) The Treasurer of the Joint Committee shall prepare a revenue and capital budget for each Financial Year which may be approved or amended by the Joint Committee.

(e) The Treasurer of the Joint Committee shall send copies of the revenue and capital budgets (as soon as they have been approved) to the Constituent Authorities.

19. (a) The accounts of the Joint Committee shall be open at all reasonable times to inspection and copying without payment by any member of the Constituent Authorities or by an officer thereof authorised for that purpose.

(b) A copy of the accounts of the Joint Committee and of any report made by the Audit Commission to the Joint Committee shall be sent to each of the Constituent Authorities as soon as may be practicable and in any case not later than six months after the end of the financial year or immediately following the completion of the audit whichever is the later.

(c) The treasurers of the Constituent Authorities or their representatives shall have power to examine at all reasonable times all vouchers books and other relevant documents held by the Treasurer of the Joint Committee in respect of the Museum.

20. This Agreement supersedes previous agreements made by the Constituent Authorities and their predecessors in relation to the Museum and shall be in force for ten years from the date of this Agreement provided that this Agreement may be determined before that date by the mutual agreement of all the Constituent Authorities.

21. In the event that the Joint Committee resolves to discontinue the Museum then after the Joint Committee has consulted the Constituent Authorities the Permanent Collection of the Museum shall be transferred in whole or in part to such registered museums with similar objects to the Museum as the Joint Committee think fit. The assets of the Museum which are not comprised in the Permanent Collection shall, after all debts and liabilities have been satisfied, be applied for such charitable objects for the advancement of education as the Joint Committee think fit. If the debts and liabilities exceed the assets then the balance shall be met by the Constituent Authorities in equal shares. For the avoidance of doubt, it is agreed that this clause shall be enforceable by the Council of the Borough of Middlesbrough in its capacity as the administrator of the Pension Fund.

22. SUBJECT as provided by Section 103 of the Local Government Act 1972 any question dispute or difference in relation to any matter in connection with this Agreement which may occur between the Constituent Authorities or any of them or between the Joint Committee and any of the Constituent Authorities shall be referred to a single arbitrator to be appointed by agreement between the parties in dispute or in default of such agreement by the Government Minister having responsibility for Museums and the decision of such arbitrator shall be final and binding and the Arbitration Act 1996 shall apply to such a reference.

23. ANY of the terms of this Agreement may at any time be varied or amended by deed executed by all the Constituent Authorities.

IN WITNESS whereof the Constituent Authorities have executed this Agreement as a deed the day and year first before written

THE FIRST SCHEDULE above referred to

Agreement dated 24th June 1970 made between:

(1) The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of Darlington (2) The County Council of the Administrative County of Durham (3) The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of Gateshead (4) The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of Hartlepool (5) The Lord Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of the City and County of Newcastle upon Tyne (6) The County Council of the Administrative County of Northumberland (7) The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of South Shields (8) The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of the County Borough of Teesside

THE SECOND SCHEDULE above referred to

Proceedings of the Joint Committee

1. The Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee shall be held in July in every year and at such meeting the Joint Committee shall from among their members elect a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman provided that if there be an equality of votes in the election of the Chairman it shall be decided by lot which of the members having an equal number of votes shall be appointed.

2. The Joint Committee shall meet every quarter and at such other times as they consider necessary.

3. The Joint Committee may appoint such sub-committees and co-opt such persons thereon as they consider necessary for the proper performance of their functions and may delegate such of their powers to such sub-committees as the Joint Committee think fit provided that each of such sub-committees contains a majority of members appointed by the Constituent Authorities and makes full and regular reports to the Joint Committee.

4. The Chairman may call a meeting of the Joint Committee at any time and shall do so upon the written requisition of six members.

5. The Secretary of the Joint Committee shall send to every member at least seven days before a meeting of the Joint Committee a summons to attend the meeting specifying the business proposed to be transacted thereat.

6. Every matter arising at a meeting of the Joint Committee or a sub-committee thereof shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question and in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have in addition a casting vote.

7. Any nine members of the Joint Committee shall form a quorum provided that the said nine members shall include members appointed by not less than four of the Constituent Authorities.

8. The quorum of a sub-committee of the Joint Committee shall be one quarter of all the members of that sub-committee provided that in no case shall the quorum be less than three members.

9. Minutes of the proceedings of the Joint Committee and of the sub-committees thereof shall be kept by the Secretary of the Joint Committee who shall send copies thereof to all members of the Joint Committee and to the Constituent Authorities

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH OF DARLINGTON ) was hereunto affixed to this Deed ) in the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNTY ) COUNCIL OF DURHAM was ) hereunto affixed to this Deed ) BY ORDER:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH OF ) GATESHEAD was affixed to this Deed ) in the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH OF HARTLEPOOL ) was affixed to this Deed in the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH OF MIDDLESBROUGH) was affixed to this Deed in the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON ) TYNE was affixed to this Deed in the ) presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE ) COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF ) NORTH TYNESIDE was affixed ) to this Deed in the presence of: )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNTY ) COUNCIL OF NORTHUMBERLAND ) was affixed to this Deed in ) the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH of REDCAR AND ) CLEVELAND was affixed to this Deed ) in the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH OF SOUTH ) TYNESIDE was affixed to this Deed in ) the presence of:- )

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE BOROUGH of STOCKTON-ON- ) TEES was affixed to this Deed in the ) presence of:- )

THE SEAL OF THE COUNCIL ) OF THE CITY OF SUNDERLAND ) was affixed to this Deed in ) the presence of:- )

Dated

AGREEMENT for the Constitution of the North of England Open Air Museum at Beamish

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