Exeter City Council is being asked to borrow more than £260,000 to repair failing boilers at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM). Without the money, the award-winning museum could close.
Local democracy reporter Guy Henderson writes that an extraordinary council meeting has been called for next week, on August 25, to discuss the funding.
A report to the meeting says one of the museum’s two boilers has failed, and other systems in the building have reached the end of their operational life. Arts Council England is expected to contribute £2.4 million to the repairs, alongside the council’s £260,000.
The repair project may also include replacing the decking on the museum’s Roman Wall Bridge. The bridge, which looks over the city’s ancient defences, has been closed for eight years because the decking has deteriorated.
The report says: “One boiler has already failed, and the remaining boiler and chilled water systems are operating within failure periods, creating a significant risk to the continued operation of the museum.”
It continues: “Failure of either system could result in the closure of RAMM and place nationally significant collections at risk.”
Officers say the remaining boiler could fail within the next two years. Councillors will be told that approving the £260,000, which would need to be borrowed, would trigger the release of the Arts Council money.
A separate £665,000 capital allocation is also recommended so the council can replace the existing boiler and chilled water systems if the funding bid fails, or if they break down before a decision is made.
RAMM first opened in Queen Street in 1869. It has 16 galleries covering zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and world archaeology, and geology. Its collections span more than 300,000 years of life across Exeter and Devon. Highlights include a vast natural history collection, a famous giraffe named Gerald, and an exceptional collection of historic clocks and watches. RAMM is a past winner of the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year.
Exeter Council Faces £260K Boiler Repair Bill to Avert Museum Closure