Issue - meetings

An amendment to the report was made at the meeting to Section 2.1.3 of the report (Dickens House Museum) wherein it is indicated that both the caretaker and honorary curator live on the property. The correct position was that only the caretaker lived there.

The vision is to create a sustainable museum service run to the maximum benefit of residents and visitors. This does mean that there are difficult decisions to be made, and we want to make sure that these decisions are made with the best advice and alongside the community.

The Heritage Lottery Fund provided an opportunity to invest in creating a clear plan to achieve this vision. This included the opportunity to resolve issues around Dickens House Museum that had been going on for some time. It also offered an opportunity for creating a state-of-the-art museum for Margate that is the best environment for our heritage collections and opens up a Grade II* listed building, currently in a derelict state.

Council would like to work closely with local volunteers to develop their skills and establish the best management models for the museums. There was support to such efforts from Historic England, Margate Museums Trust, Dickens House, Dickens Fellowship, and Ramsgate Civic Society.

The following Members spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1:

Councillor Johnston;

Councillor Bayford;

Councillor Taylor-Smith;

Councillor Savage;

Councillor Game.

Councillor L. Fairbrass proposed, Councillor Stummer-Schmertzing seconded and Cabinet agreed the following:

1.  To complete an initial, and any necessary subsequent applications, for up to £250,000 funding from Heritage Lottery Fund through the Resilient Heritage programme in order to undertake a full strategic review of museums, including feasibility studies, business planning, legal advice, and governance reviews;

2.  To pursue the potential of establishing a new museum on the Tudor House site incorporating the collections from both current sites of the Margate Museum, and subject to a fully costed business case agrees to the establishment of the same;

3.  To establish the Dickens House Museum as a formal Trust and register this with the Charity Commission;

4.  To seek the transfer of the Joyce Smith bequest into the new Trust, and seek agreement with the Dickens House Fellowship to utilise the funds in line with the bequest to support the full costs of operating the museum, backlog maintenance, and any necessary feasibility work;

5.  To take this opportunity to formally acknowledge and thank volunteers across Thanet whose hard work and dedication are continuing to support the museums.