On 23rd February the Executive of Guildford Borough Council agreed to close the Victorian schoolroom . The report into the closure stated that “the Heritage Service is currently under review and a range of desired outcomes have been agreed with Directors and various Councillors (see Appendix 1). These outcomes will help secure a long-term sustainable future for the Heritage Service, as well as deliver financial savings.”
Although the above statement talks about long term sustainability the Council is planning to close many heritage sites – see Appendix 1 below. The Council would never sell the Guildhall or the Castle. It has a legal obligation to maintain the art and museum collections and needs staff to look after them. The re-purposing of Guildford House looks ominous. In May 2022 the Council’s advisory committee debated the closure of the Tourist Information Office and there were suggestions that if closed the future of Guildford House must be reconsidered.
Appendix 1: outcomes from Heritage workshop 03 November 2022.
https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=132&MId=1436
Revised outcomes for workshop attendees in consultation with the Portfolio Holder Cllr John Redpath and the Leader Cllr Julia McShane
Guildford Borough Council looks after some of the borough’s most important listed buildings as well as over 100,000 objects in the collection. Add to this the art collection, then the wealth of the council’s heritage collection can truly be seen. For many years it has been a long-term aim of the council to improve how the public can engage with our heritage buildings and the collection of objects and artworks.
There are many past plans for doing this, with the most recent culminating in 2019 with an estimated cost of £18.4million that would have relied on Heritage Lottery Funding and a huge investment by the council. This plan was not progressed. With the change in financial fortunes of all district and borough councils it has become necessary to look at a better and more economical way to present our heritage offer. The Museum has grown over the past 125 years and now incorporates four interconnected buildings. The layout of the Museum makes it difficult to display many items in the collection and both the day to day running and maintenance costs are high.
We therefore seek to relocate the Museum and Gallery into a new space that is fit for purpose for the display of the collection, alongside a dynamic programme of exhibitions, events and activities, a positive visitor experience and associated engagement and outreach plans. This should address our challenges including diminishing resources and current facilities that do not meet the desired criteria and are not accessible to all. With this in mind, we will develop a 10-year plan which will consider an alternative operating model for the heritage offer, including investigating the opportunities for working with a voluntary third party, to manage and display the collection. We will continue to operate the Castle and Guildhall and look after the collection of objects and artwork during any transition period.
To deliver this 10-year plan, we will investigate the feasibility and implications of taking the following key steps:
• Review the operation of the Victorian Schoolroom and the property it currently occupies.
• End the lease for the Undercroft (due for renewal in February 2023).
• Relocate the museum and art gallery provision, supported by the disposal of three of the Museum buildings (48 Quarry Street, Muniment Room and 1911 Gallery) and the re-purposing of Guildford House, ensuring the ringfencing of the capital receipt to contribute to the procurement of a new venue. We will investigate the repurposing of the Castle Arch building of the Museum to provide necessary object storage.
• Continue with the documentation project, incorporating steps to rationalise the collection and storage requirements, including those for third parties.
• Ensure continued operation of the Guildhall and Castle with an appropriate staff structure.