Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Tony Thomas, Lead Member for Housing and Communities (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s support for a proposed new purpose built Passivhaus Archive building in Mold to house the newly formed Denbighshire and Flintshire Joint Archive Service and associated grant funding and match funding requirements.

Vote taken: 7 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)       agrees to the Joint Archive Service submitting a bid to the next stage (Round 1) of the NLHF Heritage Horizon Fund;

 

(b)       notes the potential call on £2,034,521 of Council funds in order to deliver the new archive centre.  This is subject to the bid being successful at the Round 1 stage of the NLHF grant application process and receipt of a form offer of funds, and

 

(c)        endorses the approach to Ruthin Gaol and the planned expansion of the heritage attraction, as outline in section 4.8 of the report.

[The Leader had to leave part way through this item and the Deputy Leader, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.]

 

Councillor Tony Thomas presented the report seeking Cabinet’s support for a proposed new purpose built Passivhaus Archive building in Mold to house the newly formed Denbighshire and Flintshire Joint Archive Service and associated grant funding and match funding requirements.

 

The joint archive service had been formed to enable both councils to meet their legislative responsibilities with regard to documents of historical importance and create a more sustainable and improved service.  The joint service currently operated over two sites in Hawarden and Ruthin (Gaol).  An NLHF Heritage Grant Horizons bid had been developed to fund a new purpose built building in Mold and an associated 3-year activity plan.  The site had been selected from a site feasibility study conducted by an independent consultant.  The report made the case for the new build; detailed the financial considerations, and proposals for Ruthin Gaol.

 

Councillor Thomas highlighted the council’s statutory responsibilities to safeguard its historical items and the current difficulties faced in that regard given capacity issues, the state of the current facilities and the substantial investment required going forward.  The proposals would still allow for an archive presence in Ruthin with remote access provision from all libraries which would strengthen the position and provide ease of access to all residents.  There was also a commitment to improving the heritage offer at Ruthin Gaol (using the space vacated by the archive service) with a view to doubling the current 12000 visitors to the site.  There had been positive indications regarding the bid to the NLHF Heritage Horizon Fund but no guarantee of final success.  If successful a new purpose built facility could be delivered to house the joint archive service which would benefit all communities and a full commitment given to enhancing provision at the Gaol.

 

Cabinet debated the merits of the recommendations at length.  There had initially been some reluctance and reservations regarding the proposals for the service when they were first put forward but they had largely been addressed and overall Cabinet was supportive of the recommendations, particularly having considered the challenges faced in terms of preservation and storage of historical documents and artefacts together with the detrimental impact on service provision and significant additional cost implications if the recommendations were not pursued.  Whilst there had been some reluctance about losing the facility at Ruthin Gaol and moving outside of the county Cabinet also considered the sharing of services to be the right one in terms of sustainability and modernisation opportunities to ensure legislative duties were met and to preserve the local history and heritage of the area.  It was also noted that the proposal would provide a wider access to information within Denbighshire through the library service together with a part time presence in Ruthin Gaol and greater access for schools which should encourage a wider audience.  Cabinet was also pleased to note the planned enhancement and expansion of Ruthin Gaol as a consequence which would also benefit the county.

 

The Business Information and Team Manager responded to questions raised by Councillor Mark Young as follows –

                                   

·         whilst resources had been concentrated on the bid application it was agreed that a contingency plan was required in the event the bid was unsuccessful and work in that regard would begin shortly

·         the Business Improvement and Modernisation Service would be building a £65k reserve as a one off cost in line with the indicative costs provided in order to progress the proposed plans for expanding the heritage attraction at Ruthin Gaol.  The Heritage Team were also looking to apply for some external funding to further enhance those offerings.

 

The Leader invited questions/comments from non-Cabinet members and during discussion Councillors Meirick Davies and Gwyneth Kensler expressed support for the proposals given it would preserve important documents and heritage for future generations.  However Councillors Huw Hilditch-Roberts and Emrys Wynne, whilst accepting the reasoning behind the proposals, voiced concerns over Ruthin losing the archive service and sought clarification and reassurance on a number of issues in the report including plans for enhancing the heritage attraction at Ruthin Gaol, service provision for communities and the role of libraries, and the offer for schools.

 

In responding to those and other issues raised during the course of debate, the Lead Member and Business Information and Team Manager –

 

·         acknowledged the importance of ensuring Denbighshire’s Welsh Language Standards were maintained going forward within the joint service and provided assurances to members in that regard

·         reiterated the benefits of a successful bid in terms of service provision and enhancements but in the event that the bid was unsuccessful the council would face major challenges in terms of maintaining service provision and the preservation of its historical records and would incur significant additional cost

·         explained that Ruthin Gaol was not a suitable building to house the archive service with significant running/maintenance costs and operational inefficiencies and the proposals provided an opportunity to use the space vacated by the archive service to expand the heritage attraction and there were talks with the Natural Trust around the ongoing operation of the site as a tourist attraction

·         advised that if the grant monies were secured Denbighshire would contribute 40% of the match funding component and Flintshire would contribute 60%

·         referred to plans for an outreach provision at HM Berwyn Prison in Wrexham as part of an educational rehabilitation approach

·         elaborated upon the feasibility study carried out of six potential sites (three in each county) to ascertain the best location for the new building which had identified Mold as the best option for the joint service going forward

·         confirmed that work was required going forward to ensure a fair allocation of resource provision of the joint service across both counties including for schools

·         provided assurances regarding the £65k reserve to fund the proposed developments at Ruthin Gaol with Cabinet having previously agreed that a reserve be established and built up by 2025 specifically for that purpose

·         explained that permanent outreach provision of archive services utilising the library network was a key part of the joint service going forward and work was currently ongoing with libraries in both counties to ascertain the most appropriate service provision with a host of different offerings being considered

·         noted that archives would be available digitally and the proposals also included a part time archive presence at Ruthin Gaol for users of the service

·         acknowledged that whilst schools could benefit from a flexible and learning focused archive building there were challenges in terms of transport and some consideration was being given to providing outreach services to schools for which a joint service would provide better opportunities.

 

At the close of debate Councillor Wynne reiterated his concerns over the loss of the archive facility from Ruthin together with other uncertainties around the proposals.

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)       agrees to the Joint Archive Service submitting a bid to the next stage (Round 1) of the NLHF Heritage Horizon Fund;

 

(b)       notes the potential call on £2,034,521 of Council funds in order to deliver the new archive centre.  This is subject to the bid being successful at the Round 1 stage of the NLHF grant application process and receipt of a form offer of funds, and

 

(c)        endorses the approach to Ruthin Gaol and the planned expansion of the heritage attraction, as outline in section 4.8 of the report.