The Maritime Museum was one of those under threat of closure
A States’ grant of up to £800,000 is to be used to bail out troubled Jersey Heritage.
Just days after the Comptroller and Auditor General, Chris Swinson, issued a report criticising the organisation’s management, Education Minister James Reed revealed that the States would step in to clear Heritage’s spiralling debt.
Earlier this year, Heritage revealed that it was in the grips of a financial crisis that could force it to lay off staff and close Hamptonne, the Occupation Tapestry Gallery and the Maritime Museum.
In a report this week, Mr Swinson revealed that the crisis was caused by poor financial management and a lack of action to correct the problems – a situation compounded by a general decline in tourism.
Yesterday, Education Minister James Reed said that the States would now clear the beleaguered organisation’s overdraft, which is expected to hit £800,000 by the end of the year.
The injection of taxpayers’ money is on top of the annual States grant of £1.8 million and the emergency £200,000 that Heritage received earlier this year.
Article posted on 7th November, 2009 - 3.00pm
30 Article Comments
That’s good news, it is very important to keep culture & heritage alive and functioning for future generations of local people and tourists.
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very good news not just for islanders but also for the tourist.it helps with the education of the islands children,also helps the tourist understand the islands history.jersey cannot afford to have these places of interest closed.heritage means alot.looking forward to my next visit in april for 3 weeks.ties in with your 65th liberation day.
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savings must be found with this department.
and it appears to be totaly out of control.
to be overdrawn by £800,000 is a disgrace.
again the taxpayer picks up the tab.
would love to see the list of creditors.
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The problem Jersey Heritage has faced is the states handed all the forts and towers to them to be repaired. So they can be let out for people to have holidays in. Which is fantastic for Jersey. But… the states did not give any extra money for the repairs.
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How ridiculous….yet more hard earned cash being poured down the drain. Heritage really need to get their act together. Money has been squandered left right and centre. Pouring good after bad won’t solve the issue by bringing more punters through the doors!!..I despair.
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So, instead of an annual grant of 1.8M it has cost us 2.8M? – Amazing.
This is perhaps a silly question, but is anyone going to be held accountable for fiasco?
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Giving Jersey Heritage a free gift of £800,000 is throwing (the taxpayers’) good money after bad.
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Totally agree with Parry, they can throw an extra million at a disfunctional department wasting money but cannot give £300,000 to pay for a very much needed inquiry into HSS yet again failing vulnerable children. When are the states going to waken up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong in that department?
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This is the best new i have heard all day at least it will mean that it will be open for the tourist (me) next year.
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I don’t agree with Parry Gashley. If Jersey Heritage has made a faux pas of the budget, something needs to be done to sort it out.
Rather than pay huge amounts to the executives of Jersey Heritage, the money should be used to keep the Maritime Museum and Hamptone open. It is vital that these venues are kept open.
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If you read the Swinson report, he’s agreeing with what Jersey Heritage have been saying – that they are underfunded. And he’s saying more capital investment is needed in their sites.
A lot of local people benefit from Heritage for free – children, pensioners, schools, Societe Members etc.
I think the problem is a confusion between the States and Heritage on who pays for what.
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So, £800k can be thrown at rescuing Heritage, but £300k is not deemed to be money worth spending supporting Alan Breckons call for an independant enquiry which would highlight failings in the HSS, and child abuse.
What excellent priorities you have States of Jersey!
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Jersey Heritages senior management are entirely responsible for its inadequate operation. We must not forget though that the organisation is supposedly balanced by a board of Trustees. For them to have allowed the situation to become this bad also needs consideration. We should not forget that there are many good people working for Heritage and regardless of the tax payer bailing out the organisation, it is this money that will ensure that the Island gets to keep the heritage it is entitled to. Keep the sites, keep the experts, but for the love of all that is right, get rid of those responsible for potentially wrecking something that is so priceless.
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Ok now we have paid for the past how about money for our future and our present.
This money should be spent on facilities used by all our town community today, it should have all gone towards the town parks.
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Time that Jersey Heritage engaged people with proven experience in the arts and heritage.Their last lot of new Trustees did not include a single person with that affinity.The then chair, an accountant, selected other accountants and bankers, before retiring and collecting his mandatory O.B.E.
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No.15 Realist-a person who is awarded an O.B.E. is recognised for their contribution to the community. Whether accountant, banker or whatever, they did give up their time for the benefit of others.
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£2.8 bill for incompetence of just a few. I am not happy that my taxes are wasted like that.
Those who created huge debts should not stay in their jobs. Loosing more public money is unacceptable in recession.
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Unless the States sort out the tourism industry then heritage will never sort out there cash situation. Every year we are told lies by tourism dept saying numbers are up! they now have egg on there face after telling us that numbers were down by over 150.000 visitors this year.
I also believe we need heritage on the island as they do a great job and keep us remembering! there sites are well looked after, clean and friendly. The staff in the sites are doing a very good job in these tough times and the £800.000 is well spent. We just need to sort tourism out and there wont be a problem.
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£800,000 of our tax money to delay the inevitable. A disgraceful mismanagement of such an important part of our island.
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What a great incentive for other public funded bodies to become commercially inept…
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#16 Havesomesense.You are missing the point.Jersey Heritage has been saved for now by a whisker.£800,000 will not sustain it for long. Though JH needs to convince the general populace that our heritage is worth saving.That means getting people as trustees of JH with proven experience in the arts and above all a dedicated enthusiasm and understanding of our heritage, which is so precious.The past chair of JH collected his mandatory O.B.E,after setting in place new trustees,mainly accountants and bankers.This policy has failed dismally.
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Heritage have been aqueezed for years (any academic study makes this easy to see). Heritage may be able to tighten up and maybe that is good, but I notice that no-one in Heritage has responded to the critisism of senator Ozouf (among others) by pointing out the states treasury wasted TEN MILLION on the J D Edwards financial system of payment licences (JEP sept 18th 2004)which have never been used. Heritage have my sympathy and impress me with their self control. There needs to be more humility and less time and energy wasted on infighting in the states.
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Great now can they help the Womens Refuge Please
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£800K – Good News!
I hope Jersey Heritage can now streamline their operations in order to keep the Hamptonne and Maritime Museums open.
I have had a good many visitors to the Island say that found both of them very interesting, providing good idea of the Island’s history and culture.
These are both asset for regenerating Jersey’s tourist trade.
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My wife and I live in Manchester, and we visit Jersey for holidays six weeks per year, and this year we purchased Joint Annual Membership from Jersey Heritage. Apart from helping Jersey Heritage with their much needed funding, we have the benefit of visiting their sites as many times as we wish during the six weeks we spend there.
Many people here in this forum are in agreement that Jersey Heritage carry out a valuable service in protecting and maintaining the heritage sites, but how many take out annual membership? It’s probably much cheaper than people imagine, and for Jersey residents, especially families with children, you have the benefit of visiting the different sites throughout the full year, and are able to take advantage of the various “specials”, such as the marvellous Cider Festival we attended at Hamptonne last month. Get your wallets and purses out, assist the Heritage Trust and take advantage of what’s on your doorstep.
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If a manager cannot work to a budget get a new manager.
I do not care how hard times are if you cannot keep to a budget get someone who can.
Its not an essential service it is a luxury keep to the budget or close.
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I think we are getting two issues mixed up here. Firstly I am very proud of Jerseys Heritage sites and Jerseys Heritage.
What I am not proud of if you read Chris Swinsons report you will find clear words indicating bad commercial management.If you read the (self penned) report my JH into the Duwk fiasco, you will find advice from their lawyer telling JT to write to Pure Adventure setting out the rules to run the service under the contract.They they went a bought a failed,non profit making business, for £600,000. Madness.
Regarding the expensive conversation of hoilday lets. That is not JH’S job we have hotels and further and finally the States never ordered then to convert anything. They took a bad commercial decision.
As the Auditior General mentions in his report they assumed to be looked after financially. They got that right a mere £800,000.
Is it any wonder Jersey is going into the red to the tune of approx. £50 million next year with managers like these in charge of quango / states departments.
Lets see what steps Treasury Minister Phillip Ozouf takes, probably just give less to desperate charities and low income people, and increase Jerseys Heritage grant next year to keep open empty heritage sites,and nice work for proven and reported useless managers?
Davey West.
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This time six months ago i would have agreed that it would be a waste of time saving Jersey Heritage and giving them the extra £800,000, but this year i joined the heritage scheme and i now understand how much it must cost to keep these magnificent sites going, i had a great time going to all the sites all the staff are well pleasant, and what a great exhibition at the museum, if any heritage staff read these comments keep up the good work you are well appreciated, and any heritage knockers join up and see the your heritage its brilliant
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I’m a long-term tourist who comes to Jersey twice a year – 15 days in Spring and 15 days in Summer with family of six. I’m here for at least a whole month each year, spending at the very least £10,000 annually actually in Jersey (ie including accommodations, car hire, eating out, sightseeing but excluding airfares).
In 6 years of coming on this basis, I despair that so many things we have visited are gone for good (that’s bad), and so many more are threatened. Will we keep returning? Answer: not if things like Jersey Heritage, Living Legend close and the horrendous overdevelopment of property goes on the way it has.
I simply cannot understand the logic of allowing multi-millionaires to come and live on this small island, yet allowing history to suffer and rot and decay. Surely, for tax and charity purposes for the most part, the millionaires should be somehow made to donate or put something in the pot as a condition of living there that keeps these things alive, whether or not there are “enough” tourists. The value of the sites is more important than a monetary label, and I don’t see why the general public should always foot the bill while millionaires keep grabbing more and more of the land and squeezing out those that have the birth-rite to be there!!!
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My problem with this is simple: the people that run the heritage sites don’t have a clue. The cafes at Hamptonne, Gorey Castle and Elizabeth Castle are cases in point.
A very large proportion of visitors are families. They want to be able to have decent coffee, a cake and/or a relatively healthy lunch. Recently at Hamptonne the cafe has been closed. The options at other places are all mass produced ice creams, prepacked sarnies on white sliced bread (does anyone still feed that to their kids), industrially produced muffins and flapjacks. Basically, stuff that shows no care or respect for the customers. I could add that the Zoo (sorry, Durrell) is also guilty of this.
There is a large amount of money to be made by getting these catering facilities right. But it seems that the people running heritage think that the commercial side of the business is somehow below them.
Also, Hamptonne’s attempts to be child friendly are a sandpit and a disused tractor. Why not put in a few swings and slides and a climbing frame and then people would stay for lunch and spend more money? As it is, we are members, we go there probably 6 times a year, each time for an hour and don’t spend any money.
With a play area and a decent cafe we would probably spend £10 or £20 each visit. It’s not exactly complicated.
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