October 2009

The Lakeland Arts Trust is reviewing the timing and scope of the redevelopment of the Windermere Steamboat Museum.

A notice for architectural services on the scheme was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union under the procedures demanded by law for projects over a certain size to be paid for from public funding. There was a strong response from the architectural community but the Board felt the only responsible course of action was to halt the process before the more complex selection process was due to begin to minimize the burden on the practices concerned. Although the Trust regrets any inconvenience caused, it has been encouraged by an understanding response from many of the practices involved. Keen to see the project progress, many of the architects offered to work speculatively on the early stages of the revised project.

The Trust had been involved in processes to secure match funding for the development stage of the project but it became apparent extremely late on that these were not to be forthcoming. There are still a number of statutory and private funders very keen to see progress on the development and it is hoped that this support can be translated into a  revised scheme. The Lake District National Park Authority is also very much in favour of the development of the site and has described the redevelopment of the steamboat museum as ‘integral to the delivery’ of the Windermere Waterfront Programme which aims to create a world class visitor destination in the South Lakes to match its world class landscape.

The Lakeland Arts Trust is very much committed to its collection of boats and to the site upon which they are housed. We have to-date raised funding to lift the collection from the water, carry out essential conservation work and place the collection in a custom-built building on site. A Project Curator was recruited for a year who, together with an experienced Marine Archivist, researched and cared for the collection. Recruitment is currently under way for a Conservation Workshop Manager and the funding for this post, together with the costs of setting up an interim workshop, have been funded by private Trusts and Foundations.

A review of the project is under way and the scale and scope will be considered in the light of the Trust’s current performance, its progress with private funding and its support from agencies. The Trust is mindful that the placement of the OJEU notice has left some architectural firms frustrated at another project being delayed by the economic climate
and by the framework of the OJEU procedure. The OJEU process exists under European Law to ensure transparency in trade and is mandatory for provision of goods and services over certain thresholds where some or all of the funding is coming from Government or statutory sources.