JMS/13/18 Performance Report PDF 66 KB

Item
Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
Joint Commitee
JMS/13/18
18 March 2014
Report of
Colchester and Ipswich Museum Manager
Title
7
Author
Jenny Ruder
Jo Besant
℡ 01206 282931
Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service: Performance Review
This report summarises performance for the first three quarters of
2013/14 for Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service.
1st April – 31st December 2013.
Recommendation
To note the report.
Performance Review
1.0 Visitor Figures
Table 1: Comparative 2008/9 to 2013/14 CIMS cumulative visitor figures
(excluding Colchester Castle) for the first nine months (Q.1-3).
Financial year;
and below, the %
change 2013/14
compared to figs.
for Q1-3 2012/13
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
(Mondays closed
for HT/NHM/CCM)
Colchester
Hollytrees
Museum
Colchester
Natural
History
Museum
30,959
30,556
31,891
Ipswich
High Street
Museum
Christchurch
Mansion
Ipswich
Ipswich Art
School
Gallery
22,049
27,165
22,635
28,112
33,396
35,376
46,684
56,748
49,592
N/A
N/A
8,783
26,275
19,189
38,241
49,798
8,523
26,375
24,769
21,190
26,738
31,168
33,395
47,100
43,599
8,135
5,483
-6%
+26%
2012-13
(Mondays closed
for HT/NHM/CCM)
2013-14
% Change
compared to
same period in
2012-13
+7%
-7%
-33%
1.1
The overall picture for the CIMS shows a negligible variation in visitor figures in the first
three months of 2013-14 compared to the first three months of 2012-13 - a reduction of
just 0.06%. (N.B. this year’s figures do not include Colchester Castle which has been
closed since January 2013)
1.2
Individually for each town, the following applies:-
1.3
Colchester:- Combined venue visitor figures increased by +8% on the same period last
year (47,656 in 2012-13 up to 51,507 in 2013-14) due to a large increase in Natural
History Museum visitors. The increase in visitors began in the first quarter and continued
during the summer period including the summer school holidays. This is likely to partially
reflect the very successful ‘Stand Tall’ campaign of public art (giraffes) located around
Colchester and Essex for ten weeks during the summer in 2013, to mark the 50th
anniversary of Colchester Zoo. It also reflects the popularity of the museum with families
as a free drop-in educational activity, recent refreshment of displays, and a project
involving local community group volunteers improving the museum’s garden. (The
popularity of Natural History is also reflected in increased visitors to Ipswich Museum
with its popular Victorian Natural History gallery).
1.4
Ipswich:- Combined venue visitor figures show a decrease of -5% on the same period
last year (86,403 in 2012-13 drop to 82,477 in 2013-14) due in part to lower visitor
numbers attending the Art School. The autumn touring exhibition ‘This Me of Mine’
although part of an important and interesting artistic project, lacked popular appeal and
the lessons learnt will be carried forward into future programming. ‘Once Upon a Time’
exhibition, the first Museum collection generated exhibition in the Art School, is already
attracting significantly increased audiences. A Grants for the Arts bid to Arts Council
England, if successful, will support the development of the artistic programme.
1.5
The impact of three full days of closure at Christchurch Mansion in October half-term
2012 has resulted in lower than usual figures for the third quarter. Last year the halfterm week saw 1,804 visitors in total at the Mansion. Due to the closure of the park for
health and safety reasons during the high winds the figures for 2013 were reduced to
999.
2.0
Schools Figures
Table 2: Comparative 2008/09 to 2013/14 CIMS cumulative school visitor figures
(excluding Colchester Castle) for the first nine months (Q.1-3).
Financial year;
and below, the %
change 2013/14
compared to figs.
for Q1-3 2012/13
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
% Change
Colchester
Hollytrees
Museum
1,553
1,886
1,409
1,318
1,309
1,193
-9%
Ipswich
High Street
Museum
2,905
2,779
3,784
4,068
3,973
3,947
-1%
Christchurch
Mansion
Ipswich
3,179
3,725
3,756
3,916
3,843
3,183
-17%
Ipswich Art
School
Gallery
N/A
N/A
543
428
939
443
-53%
2.1
School visits are down compared to this period last year, although at Ipswich High Street
Museum this is a drop of just -1% (26 pupils). The schools packages focus on
Hollytrees, the High Street Museum, and Christchurch Mansion.
2.2
For Christchurch Mansion, the first (spring) quarter of 2013-14 saw 39% more school
visits than the same period in 2012 (634 children in 2013 compared to 456 in 2012).
However, an 8% reduction occurred in the second (summer) quarter (1,409 children in
2013 compared to 1,535 in 2012). The third (autumn) quarter saw a 38% reduction
(1,140 children in 2013 compared to 1,852 in 2012). It can be seen from the figures for
the last five years that schools numbers to the Mansion have returned from a high in
2011/12 to the levels of 2008/09.
2.3
The period covered reflects the end of the last cycle of CIMS schools advertising. The
publicity associated with the re-opening of the Castle provides opportunities to promote
widely the museum service’s full offer to schools to the benefit of all CIMS venues.
3.0
Other Usages
3.1
Other usages of the museum are also down on this period last year, by 18% (from 9,777
in 2012/13 to 8,042 in 2013/14). However, these were down by 33% at the time of the
last report covering quarter one and two, so the third quarter represents an increase in
requests as the year has progressed. Other usages include the following categories of
meaningful contacts made with the service:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4.0
In person (visits)
By telephone
By letter
Identifications (of objects brought in by the public)
External Emails (not including admission price and opening hours enquiries)
Research
Other – includes talks, external events and outreach activities and events.
Budget and Income
The 2013/14 CIMS budget carried forward a deficit of -£64,000 from 2012/13. This was
largely a consequence of the loss of income during the Castle refurbishment and the loss
of the Renaissance funding. The position at the end of December 2013 is an estimated
carry forward deficit to the 2014/15 financial year of -£83,500, which is within the agreed
operating levels of +/- £100k. This position is due to a range of factors which include the
omission of pay award contributions by both Local Authorities and pressure on the
increased income targets. The following areas show how key areas of income generation
have performed against the increased income targets set for 2013/14:-
4.1
Retail
Venue Shop
Hollytrees Museum
Natural History Museum
Christchurch Mansion
High Street Museum
Income Targets
for 2013/14 Year
£3,000
£6,000
£20,000
£20,000
Position at end
of December 13
£2,324
£5,271
£13,872
£15,422
If the target is evenly applied to the four quarters it can be seen that retail income is on
target for all venues with the exception of Christchurch Mansion. This may reflect the
reduction in overall visitor figures for this museum.
4.2
Hirings
Venue
Income Targets Position at end
for 2013/14 Year of December 13
Colchester Castle (N.B. There has been no £10,000
£2,891
prospect of meeting this target during the
closure period)
Christchurch Mansion (N.B. Additional wedding £20,000
£10,840
deposits are expected in by the end of March
2014)
Ipswich Town Hall (This was a budget income £15,000
£0
figure which related to the operation of the
Town Hall Galleries by CIMS which is no
longer the case.)
4.3
Schools Admissions
Venue
Colchester Castle / Romans on the Road
Hollytrees Museum
Christchurch Mansion Ipswich
High Street Museum Ipswich
Income
Targets for
Position at end of
2013/14 Year
December 13
£10,000
£6,236
£9,800
£4,104
£6,900
£4,802
£6,900
£8,126
It can be seen that with the exception of Ipswich Museum, the school income figures are
behind 2013/14 targets. This has been accounted for in the predicted end of year outturn figures. N.B. There is not a direct correlation between the schools visitor figures and
income as school groups can opt for a self-directed visit and not pay for the learning
packages on offer.

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