SAFER AND STRONGER COMMUNITY SELECT COMMITTEE
17 January 2018
Title: Review of Heritage Development Plans
Report of the Commissioning Director, Culture and Recreation
Open Report For Information
Wards Affected: All Key Decision: No
Report Author: Contact Details: Paul Hogan, Commissioning Director for Tel: 020 8227 3576 Culture and Recreation E-mail: [email protected] Accountable Director: Tom Hook, Director of Policy and Participation
Accountable Strategic Director: Chris Naylor, Chief Executive
Summary
As part of their annual work plan, the Safer and Stronger Community Select Committee has decided to review the proposed development plans for the heritage service, which focus on the establishment of the East End Women’s Museum; investment in the Abbey Ruins and Abbey Green; the development of an industrial heritage museum; and further improvements to Eastbury Manor House.
This report provides an overview of the performance and financial targets for the heritage service to 2020 as well as individual updates on each of the above schemes.
Recommendation(s)
The Committee is recommended to note the update.
Reason(s)
The heritage service falls under the remit of the SSCSC.
1. Background information
1.1 The Council’s heritage service manages and provides the following facilities and services:
Valence House Museum is the local history museum for the Borough.
Valence House Museum is an accredited local history museum with local, regional and nationally significant collections providing a high quality and comprehensive events and learning programme for school groups and the wider community.
Valence House is owned by the Council and is a Grade II* listed medieval and later building. A major redevelopment of the site was completed in 2011 at a cost of about £7.5 million (£2 million of which was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund).
The Borough’s art collection is stored and displayed at Valence House Museum. It includes the nationally renowned Fanshawe portrait collection and works by Glindoni and others and has an estimated value of c£2.5 million.
Archives and Local Studies Centre (part of the Valence House Museum complex) holds a variety of locally relevant documents including: parish records, local authority records, school records, church records, hospital records, business records, the records of charities, societies and clubs, family and personal papers, photographs, films and oral histories.
Temporary heritage and art exhibitions
Eastbury Manor House, historic house and gardens, providing school group visits, exhibitions, community events and activities, café, meeting spaces for community and commercial functions.
Eastbury Manor House is a Grade I listed Tudor mansion. Over 3 phases of development, the Council and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) have together invested over £2m in improvements to the House. The Manor House is owned by the National Trust and leased to the Council.
Outreach educational programmes to support school curriculum delivery
Events - large scale outdoor events such as the civil war re-enactment
Advisory service for other council departments, in particular LBBD planning service, and external developers.
1.2 The net controllable budget for the service for 2017/18 is £740,680.
1.3 The intended outcomes for the heritage service by 2020 are:
Improved and increased access - grow visits from 47,000 to 92,000 Financial sustainability – reduce net cost by £76,000 per year Quality assurance will be embedded– retain Museum and Archive accreditation Customer service will be excellent – retain Visitor Attraction Quality Service accreditation Enhanced civic pride – increase volunteering hours from 6,000 to 9,000 each year
1.4 The service is also taking forward four major development projects, which are at different stages of implementation. These are: East End Women’s Museum – the creation of a permanent resource to promote women’s history that will record, share, and celebrate women’s stories and voices from east London’s history.
Further information on this project is attached at appendix 1.
The Abbey: Unlocking Barking’s past, securing its future – capital improvement programme to the landscape at Abbey Green and promotion and interpretation of the history of the former-Barking Abbey.
Further information on this project is attached at appendix 2.
East London Industrial Heritage Museum - a new facility of regional significance, on the site of the former Ford stamping plant, that will tell the story of the area’s industrial heritage but also support the development of new and sustainable creative industries in the Borough.
Further information on this project is attached at appendix 3.
A Re-imagined Eastbury - redevelopment project at Eastbury Manor House comprising: building and conservation works, creation of a ‘pocket park’, permanent interpretation (that is sensory and tactile) to bring the property’s empty rooms to life. Further information on the project is attached at appendix 4.
1.5 If they are all implemented, the capital cost of these schemes will be c£11 million.
2. Strategic context
2.1 The development priorities for the heritage service have been informed by three key strategic frameworks – one internal (Ambition 2020, looking at how the Council works), one independent (the Growth Commission, looking at the potential for economic growth), and one shared (Borough Manifesto, a resident led vision of the future of Barking and Dagenham, jointly owned by public, private and voluntary sector organisations).
2.2 The Ambition 2020 programme concluded that the Heritage Service should be retained in-house with a vigorous mission to promote the borough’s past and its connection to the present and future. It proposed the implementation of an improvement programme to increase visitor numbers, income and volunteering whilst reducing operational costs.
2.3 It confirmed that the scope of the service will include – Valence House Museum (including Archives and Local Studies) and Eastbury Manor House – together with any new heritage assets that may be developed. It will continue to source external funding opportunities wherever possible. However, there will be a concerted effort to drive up visitor numbers and maximise commercial opportunities.
2.4 Ambition 2020 anticipates the better promotion of the heritage attractions in the borough will boost its reputation as a place to live and visit. 2.5 The independent Growth Commission report concluded that the borough: has the potential and the political will to become an inclusive, prosperous and inclusive place, in which all communities have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
2.6 It recognised that there is a strong role for culture (including heritage) to play in the borough and that culture can contribute to socio-economic development and help support the creation and maintenance of social capital. It recommended that the Council should harness the potential of cultural activities to support the wider well- being agenda and as a way of creating a strong and positive vision of the area.
2.7 The report also identified the need for a ‘One Borough’ programme as a way of addressing divisiveness between different parts of the community and that the best way to do this is to intensify community outreach combining heritage and cultural activities.
2.8 At the heart of the Borough Manifesto are ten themes with aspirations and cross- cutting, ambitious targets for the next 20 years. The heritage service has a key role to play in the achievement of at least three of these themes: Arts, Culture and Leisure; Community and Cohesion; and Regeneration.
2.9 The manifesto anticipates that by 2037 Barking and Dagenham will be a place with great arts and culture for everyone, leading change in the borough. Everyone will have the opportunity to take part in, enjoy and benefit from our culture, which will in turn improve our health and well-being. We will use our arts, culture and heritage as a vehicle to bring about some of the changes that residents outlined in the (manifesto) consultation, making the borough a destination, rather than a place people commute through, and as a means to improve community cohesion.
3. Outcomes
3.1 The Council adopted a new Heritage Strategy in June 2016, which sets out the vision and priorities for the service to 2020.
3.2 The vision for the heritage service is to: ‘put the community at the heart of all it does by inspiring learning, creativity and pride. Heritage has a role to play in shaping the borough and making a positive contribution to improving the lives of the people who live, work and visit here.’
3.3 The intended outcomes are:
3.4 Improve and increase access - grow visits from 47,000 to 92,000, which will be achieved by: More people of all ages, from all parts of the community visit Valence House and Eastbury Manor House and have a fun, welcoming and safe experience. More people will engage with the history of Barking and Dagenham to help develop a sense of shared identity, sense of place, community and pride. Increased social inclusion and healthier more active minds. People learn, develop, socialise and contribute to society through volunteering. People have easy access to information about the heritage of Barking and Dagenham. The physical and intellectual history of Barking and Dagenham is preserved and interpreted.
3.5 Financial sustainability – reduce net cost by £76,000 per year
3.6 Embed quality assurance – retain Museum and Archive accreditation
3.7 Excellent customer service – retain Visitor Attraction Quality Service accreditation
3.8 Enhance civic pride – increase volunteering hours from 6,000 to 9,000 each year
3.9 The key performance indicators in relation to these success measures are set out in table one below.
Table one LBBD heritage service – key performance indicators
Success measures by 2020 (except where indicated) Source Outcome - Excellent customer service 1 85% of customers would recommend Valence House (VH) Heritage survey and Eastbury Manor House (EMH) to a friend. 2 85% of customers find their visit to VH and EMH welcoming Heritage survey 3 Retain Visitor Attraction Quality Service (VAQS) accreditation VAQS inspection for VH. 4 Achieve VAQS accreditation for EMH by 2018 VAQS inspection Outcome - Improve and increase access 5 Grow visits from 47,000 to 92,000 Heritage survey 6 The profile of service users will better reflect the demographic Heritage survey make-up of the borough. 7 Increase in repeat visits by local people (benchmark to be Heritage survey established) 8 Deliver six temporary exhibitions each year (from 2018) Outcome - Financial sustainability 9 Increase income/reduce costs by £76,000. Annual accounts Outcome - Embed quality assurance 10 Retain Museum Accreditation Arts Council England 11 Retain Archive Accreditation The National Archives 12 Gain Green Flag award for Eastbury Manor House gardens Green Flag 13 Achieve ‘Designation of national value’ for the Fanshawe Arts Council portrait collection England Outcome - Support educational attainment 14 85% of teachers think that the education sessions help to: Teacher survey develop children’s understanding of the historical topic and their local area and enrich their educational experience. 15 Deliver more than 50 school education visits each year. School survey Outcome - Enhance civic pride 16 95% of visitors to the Archives and Local Studies Centre PSQG survey developed a greater understanding of local history. 17 80% of volunteers are satisfied that they learn, develop, Volunteer survey socialise and contribute to society through volunteering. 18 Increase heritage related volunteering hours from 6,000 to Volunteer survey 9,000 hours each year. 19 85% of visitors are prouder of Barking and Dagenham after Visitor survey visiting VH and/or EMH. 20 Raise the profile and awareness of the Borough’s key Resident survey heritage assets.
4. Current performance and service focus
4.1 The Council’s Heritage Service provides important benefits for borough residents: engagement with heritage is associated with increases in wellbeing, improvements in health, improved educational and economic prospects, and higher levels of positive civic participation.
4.2 The work of the service is based around eight heritage focus areas
The Barking Abbey site Eastbury Manor House Valence House and its collections Maritime and fishing heritage Industrial heritage Becontree housing estate Oral, family and social history Old Dagenham Village and its church 4.3 The renovation schemes at Eastbury Manor House and Valence House Museum have resulted in increased visitor numbers from 34,610 (2010/11) to 47,243 (2016/17). In addition, 5,940 local school children attended heritage education activities in 2016/17.
4.4 Also, the quality and effectiveness of the facilities and services now provided has been widely recognised:
The Museums’ Journal has described Valence House Museum as ‘one of the best local history museums in London’ and the web-site Londonist has called Eastbury Manor House one of the ‘Top ten historic houses in London’. The service secured the prestigious Sandford Award for the quality of the heritage education service provided to local schools, which puts the service on a par with national institutions like the Tower of London. The Guardian included making a visit to Valence House Museum as one of the fifty best free things to do in London. A Green Flag Award, the parks and open spaces industry standard for excellence, has been awarded to the gardens at Valence House. Valence House Museum secured accreditation under the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS), the nationally recognised customer service excellence standard for visitor attractions. The service has also met the standards set out in the national Museums Accreditation scheme, which is a clear demonstration of the Council’s commitment to managing the collections effectively for the enjoyment and benefit of users. In 2016 Valence House Museum won a Visit England Best Told Story award. The museum joins 61 other world class attractions, including the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, that have been recognised for going the extra mile and for the quality of the visitor experience. Also in 2016, the Archives and Local Studies Centre secured industry accreditation status and is now an Accredited Archive Service. The outcome report stated: ‘Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Centre is an exemplar of a London borough archive service, and what can be achieved for archives and their community. The local authority can be hugely proud of this achievement...
4.5 There are eight focus areas proposed for new activity:
Improve the effectiveness of internal communications between staff, volunteers, members, and friends. Improve the marketing of the borough’s heritage: Utilise the ‘Discover me’ network to target regional visitors for Eastbury Manor House; better collaboration with council departments, heritage organisations including National Trust properties and in neighbouring boroughs, and third sector organisations. Deliver a more focused events programme to provide engaging but affordable events for residents to enjoy: Promote the historic roles and achievements of women in the Borough; annual civil war re-enactment; Promote and celebrate the centenary of the Becontree estate; Continue to develop the Treasured Memories project at Eastbury Manor House; Glow festival at Eastbury Manor House Improve the way that the service uses the customer’s experience and ideas to develop and improve the service. Attract more visits by out of borough schools (east London and Essex) to Eastbury Manor House by promoting proximity of Upney tube station (free travel) and the Victoria and Tudor offer as part of the key stage one ‘festivals’ topic. Achieve greater understanding of audience segmentation to enable a visitor development plan to be produced and to target promotional activity accordingly. Seek transition funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop new audiences for Valence House Museum. Create a fit for purpose online presence for the heritage service.
Public Background Papers Used in the Preparation of the Report: None
List of appendices:
Appendix 1: East End Women’s Museum Appendix 2: The Abbey: Unlocking Barking’s past, securing its future Appendix 3: East London Industrial Heritage Museum Appendix 4: A Re-imagined Eastbury