Funding is due to be approved for urgent roof repairs at Bury Art Museum.
Bury Council's cabinet meeting on June 30 will discuss the appointment of a contractor to carry out the essential work.
The museum, a Grade II listed building in Bury town centre, has been a cultural landmark since 1901.
It houses more than 2,000 works of art and 60,000 artefacts, including internationally significant paintings.
The building is in need of urgent repairs to its roof to ensure the long-term preservation of the museum and its collections.
In March 2024, Bury Council secured a restricted grant of £589,545 from the Arts Council, through the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s MEND Capital Programme, supplemented by £65,505 in match funding from Bury Council’s Capital Programme.
The grant funding received from the Arts Council must be spent by March 31, 2027.
The grant is specifically allocated for essential and urgent repairs to the museum’s roof.
It will cover the costs of engaging a quantity surveyor, a conservation architect, and a building contractor.
It is anticipated that the building works will take between six and nine months to complete.
As part of the funding agreement with the Arts Council, Bury Council has entered into a Deed of Covenant with the Arts Council of England, placing a 15-year restriction over the freehold of the museum.
This covenant requires that, upon completion of the building works, the museum will continue to operate as an accredited museum for at least 15 years.
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To deliver the building works, a procurement process was undertaken by the council to appoint a contractor.
Five local contractors were invited to submit quotes for the role, with procurement support from Constellia.
The council has committed an additional £247,833.59 towards the cost of the building works.
The council is set to approve the appointment of UK Restoration Limited as the contractor to undertake the building works, with a total estimated contract value of up to £888,801.63.
The contractor has been selected by the project panel as the most qualified and experienced to carry out the work on a Grade II listed building, and with the most competitive quote of the tenders.
The project panel included the arts and museums manager and senior curator from the museum, Chambers Conservation Ltd (architect), Poole Dicke Associates Ltd (quantity surveyor), and Constellia Ltd providing procurement support.
The council has a statutory duty to protect Grade II listed buildings under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
If the urgent repairs to the museum roof are not carried out, the water ingress will continue, and the condition of the building will deteriorate further.
There are no alternative options, as the museum roof needs urgent repairs and the Arts Council have awarded a grant to enable this work to be carried out.
If the grant is not drawn down, the work cannot continue.
The building requires urgent work to the roof to protect the cultural estate.
The museum is a space for artists to collaborate with marginalised people, including working with people from the local community with dementia, school children who are in danger of exclusion, and people with experience of homelessness.
The museum is free to enter, it provides a safe, warm, compassionate space for people to socialise, learn, have fun, enjoy cultural and heritage activities.
It is a space where diversity and difference are welcomed.
The museum is actively seeking new income streams to ensure financial resilience.
This includes procuring a new supplier for the gallery café, developing ideas to increase income, and leveraging grants to offset losses during repair periods.
The museum’s income targets are ambitious, with a focus on maintaining and growing revenue through innovative programming and partnerships.
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