Agenda item

The Chairman invited Angela Dickson to address the meeting.  In doing so, she made the following points:-

·        She was pleased that the Archive Services is continuing and a new place has been found for it,

·        She noted that a 20% reduction in floor space will result in some items being placed in long term storage, and

·        She was of the view that long term storage might make some items inaccessible for research purposes.

She asked :-

·        if the Members of the Consultative Group could be actively involved in the discussions to identify the possible long term storage items, and

·        whether the artefacts from Fulham Town hall could be displayed at Fulham Library or Fulham House, with a possible extension of the public display area at the latter venue.

The Deputy Leader welcomed Ms Dickson’s comments and gave an assurance that her suggestions will be taken on board.  He noted that the Council will not be able to direct the Fulham House to extend its public gallery space as its operates as a independent entity which must be financially viable but it was still an issue for the Fulham Palace Trust to consider.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the scheme to refurbish Hammersmith Library at a cost of £1.99m which is fully funded from section 106 (£1.65m) and the existing planned maintenance budget (£0.34m), be approved.

2.      That the draw-down of £925,000 section 106 funding that has already been received by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from the Hammersmith Car Park Construction scheme, be approved.

3.      That approval be given to temporarily forward funding and bearing the risk of the balance of section 106 funding associated with the Hammersmith Car Park Construction scheme (£725,000) that is currently outstanding but expected to be available in April 2014, and to the draw down of that sum to spend or reimburse as required, the temporary finance being sourced from the corporate capital reserve and only used in the event that the outstanding S106 financing is not received prior to a requirement to fund expenditure as per the accounting cycle.

4.      That approval be given to the proposal to relocate the Archives Service to Hammersmith Library and to undertake additional works to the library on the proviso that £700,000 Section 106 funding is secured as set out in paragraph 5.8 onwards of the report (of which £510,000, including fees, will relate to the creation of the new Archives location, £50,000 to move the service to the new location, a £50,000 allowance made for alternative service provision during the closure period, and the remainder used to purchase new stock).

5.   That approval be given to temporarily forward funding and bearing the risk of £700,000 of additional section 106 funding associated with the Kings Mall Car Park development and to the draw-down of that sum on the proviso that planning permission is granted on the site with the associated section 106 agreement included in the Head of Terms, the temporary finance being sourced from the corporate capital reserve and only used in the event that the outstanding S106 financing is not received prior to a requirement to fund expenditure as per the accounting cycle.

6. That the provision of £55,000 one off revenue contingency funding from April 2013 to allow the continued delivery of an Archives and Local Studies service and to prepare and rationalise the collections prior to transfer to their new location, be approved.
   
   
7. That delegation of the authorisation of the future spend of the drawn down Section 106 monies to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Residents Services, in consultation with the Executive Director for Environment, Leisure and Residents Services and the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Governance, be approved.