Costs and details of works being carried out at Mont Orgueil Castle

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WRITTEN QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE COMMITTEE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARTIN

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd NOVEMBER 2004

Question 1

In relation to the work being carried out at Mont Orgueil Castle, will the President inform members of the estimated cost of –

( a ) re-roofing the Tudor Hall , Long Passage and D-shaped space?

( b ) m  aintaining and monitoring the effects of re-roofing the structure and running the new building? ( c ) the planned new gardens including the Scott ish granite sculptures in the new outer ward garden?

( d ) the eighteen feet high wooden statue planned for installation at the Fourth Gate? and,

( c ) the conservation and repair of the North East Outworks?

Answer

1. The estimated costofre-roofing the Tudor Hall , Long PassageandD-ShapedSpaceis £92,400, against a total project cost of £3 million.

T h e total cost of enclosure is estimated at £195,880 which is 6.5 per cent of the total project grant.

2. The cost of running the new building will beabsorbed within the Jersey HeritageTrust's (JHT) existing budgets for Mont Orgueil, as there will benochange to staffing levels. Maintenancecosts are expected to be low, as the roofsare to beconstructedof traditionally low-maintenance materials, i.e. leadon timber, which would beexpected to last 30 years before minor repairs,andmore than 100 years before major repairs, are necessary. Cyclical maintenance,suchas clearing gutters and hoppersand inspections will becarried out by existing JHTstaffin the normalway.

T h e cost of monitoring environmental changes in the Keep will be the same whether the space is roofed or

left open. The eventual cost of investigative and monitoring work, which has commenced in the week of 22nd  November 2004,  will  depend  on  preliminary  findings  and  the  proportion  of  work  which  can  be undertaken by JHT employees. The likely outturn costs will be between £5,000 and £7,000.

(c)The Outer Ward Garden has already been built and is providing visitors with a new route into the Castle.  It has

made accessible a previously closed area and also provides a new pedestrian route from Gorey Pier to Castle Green. The garden has cost £88,156 including the cost of the granite sculptures, constituting approximately 2.9 per cent of the total project cost.

4. The cost of the figure is £50,000.
5. The budget for the conservationand repair of the NorthEastOutworksis£107,500whichincludes the cost of  archaeological excavation  and recording  related  to the  work. This  latter  element is estimated at approximately £20,000.

Question 2

In relation to the work on the North East Outworks –

(a ) does it include the reconstruction of the German costal artillery command post built during the

occupation but demolished in 2000? and,

(b ) will the work be completed in time for the celebrations planned for the 60th anniversary of our

Liberation next year?

Answer

1. The artillery command post was not demolished in 2000, but made safe to enable future conservation. The Channel Islands Occupation Society (CIOS) was consulted about the German installations at the time. In November 2003, the JHT confirmed to the CIOS its intention to conserve the German work in the NE Outworks as part of the conservation of the Outworks as a whole.
2. The work is programmed to take place between May and October 2005, and will not be completed for the 60th Anniversary of Liberation. However, the North East Outworks will be open to the public by the 61st Anniversary of Liberation.

Question 3

In addition to the granite sculptures and wooden statue, what other art works are planned for the Castle, if any, and at what cost?

Answer

The planned cost of exhibition and interpretation works at Mont Orgueil is £744,930. This includes a range of interpretative signs, audio-visual displays, cases for historic objects, guidebooks, replicas and figures and displays. The ambition for new displays was set out as part of the original grant application and this is an important investment in the potential for learning and enjoyment and the castle. These works will update the arrangements for tableaux and museum displays at the site and are vital in ensuring that visitor income continues to support the maintenance of the castle.

Question 4

1. Why is it necessary to build a new room, nowtobe called the Tudor Hall , apparently to display the Royal Hologram, when other rooms already exist in the Castle where this couldbedone?
2. What consideration has been given to displaying the Royal Hologram in the proposed new art gallery planned for the Island Site in view of its central and more accessible location for displaying modernpiecesof art?

Answer

1. It is not necessary to build a new room to house the Royal Hologram and there are, of course, other rooms in the castle where the Hologram could be displayed. The Keep is to be re-roofed for reasons of conservation of the fabric by affording protection from the elements to parts of the castle that were once roofed and to enable access, both physical and intellectual, for members of the public who cannot now understand or properly appreciate the Keep at Mont Orgueil.
2. If such a gallery is built it might well be a suitable venue for the Royal Hologram although the development of the gallery is, as yet, not confirmed.