Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director and the Director Resources.

Please note that this item contains exempt information. Should members wish to discuss this information a resolution would need to be passed to go into exempt session.

The Cabinet Member Sport and Culture introduced the report which provided an update on the Art Gallery and Museum Development including a projection of the outturn financial costs and projected funding shortfall of £360 000. She explained that it was well known that the renovation of old buildings often resulted in unforeseen problems and to some extent this explained the delays in opening the Wilson which in itself carried a cost. Internal Audit had been commissioned to identify any weaknesses in the control, monitoring and approval mechanisms supporting the Art Gallery and Museum project and to understand how the Council might have been better informed about the likely cost overrun thus giving the council an opportunity to take corrective action. This work would be important for learning lessons for future projects, such as the Town Hall redevelopment.

The Cabinet Member Sport and Culture stated that visitor numbers were expected to triple the number in the first year. The fundraising and sponsorship campaign would continue and the prospects for closing the funding gap of £360 000 were very real. She believed that the opening of the Wilson was one of the most exciting things that had happened in Cheltenham particularly now that it had a dedicated education and young people’s space and the ability to host large exhibitions.

Whilst recognising that the Wilson was an excellent facility, an asset to the town and a tribute to the hard work of officers, Members questioned the quality of the project management and the ability of the administration to keep control of costs. In addition the issue of including some information in the report and likewise on other major council projects, on pink, confidential papers was raised.

A member of the Cabinet acknowledged that the report did not provide for happy reading but paid tribute to the foresight and initiative of the council to undertake the development in the first place as it represented a landmark development for Cheltenham. It was important to review what had happened and that lessons were learned for similar developments in the future. He reiterated the fact that projects involving old buildings were often fraught with extra costs. He highlighted that the pink papers in this particular report concerned sensitive commercial information and the council was under a statutory obligation not to disclose this. The majority of the report was publicly available and there was no proposal to discuss the item in closed session.  The success of the project was clearly being demonstrated by visitor numbers. Caution was expressed that this discussion risked turning the Wilson into a bad news story which could reduce the future ability to raise funds for the Art Gallery and Museum.

The Chair of the Audit Committee welcomed the fact that Internal Audit had been commissioned to undertake a review. The financial issues should be explored but questions also needed to be asked on the decision-making and whether this was done with the best possible information at hand. He made reference to the risk assessment and reminded members that he had written to all members asking them for their view on the general review of risk management and assessment at the council.

Members recognised that in a project of this size, overruns were to be expected but contingencies should have been built in to account for this and to ensure that the project was managed properly. Decision makers should have acted in a timely manner and whilst it was noted that the Cabinet Member had been kept informed of issues throughout the project, it was questioned whether the information supplied to her was accurate or appropriately delivered. The review by Internal Audit was vital so that mistakes were not repeated and so that trust and confidence in the council’s ability to manage major projects did not risk its reputation with the public. Some members were of the view that a review should be undertaken on commissioning project management services.

The Cabinet Member Housing and Safety thanked the Friends of the Art Gallery and Museum and communities in Cheltenham for the fund raising efforts they had made in contributing to this new asset in the town.

In response to comments made, the Cabinet Member Sport and Culture acknowledged that mistakes had been made but this was a major project for the town. She highlighted that the confidential information on pink paper was in accordance with legal advice. She referred to the fact that she had compared the Art Gallery and Museum project with other large scale projects and the amounts of overspends they incurred were of a similar size.

RESOLVED that

Budgetary provision be made for the additional underwriting of the Art Gallery and Museum development project in the sum of £360 000 be approved.

Voting for : 24, against 0, abstentions :4