Page 2 - Barnsley Museums Annual Review 2018-2019

Welcome to a year
at Barnsley Museums
Yet again Barnsley Museums have excelled themselves. Now consistently attracting in excess of 1.2 million visitors to the Council’s portfolio of museums, galleries and historic landscapes, a good proportion of these
are from the local area and many more from across Yorkshire, the UK and even internationally.
Our museums are treasured by local people and hold a special place in the hearts
of generations of residents. The council
is committed to providing free access
to our museums and ensuring that no one is excluded from them as a place to enjoy, to learn and to be inspired.
The council recognises the importance of our museums as places to do business and to make a significant contribution to the local economy. The economic impact of Barnsley Museums last year has been estimated at over £26M.
This year was a significant first for us and we are very proud that Barnsley Museums have been recognised by Arts Council England
as a National Portfolio Organisation. This has allowed us to increase our learning
and volunteering offer and undertake targeted work to meet wider outcomes, such as improving health and well-being and educational attainment and simply ensuring that people have the opportunity to achieve their potential.
The council is committed to continuing
to develop Barnsley Museums and we are grateful for the support of our funding partners Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund and to Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust who have helped us to realise these ambitions. This year in particular there has been
a focus on delivering the transformative Parks for People project at Cannon Hall which has included the major undertaking of dredging the extensive lakes and in the year to come major drainage, landscape and building renovations will be undertaken.
Barnsley Museums have also undertaken extensive master planning at Elsecar
and worked closely with Rotherham Council and Wentworth Woodhouse as part of the Great Place Programme. The Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership is in its final year and has made a huge impact on one of
our most deprived areas. The programme has helped us raise the bar with our environmental projects.
This year the council were also able to announce an important new joint venture with the National Trust to run Wentworth Castle Gardens and to work in partnership with Barnsley Museums and Northern College which will build on the unique skills of each organisation to connect with new audiences.
In short, this year Barnsley Museums has gone from strength to strength. The fact that they continue to be innovative and creative and build strong and effective partnerships to deliver increasingly ambitious programmes is a testament to the leadership and teamwork shown by everyone.
Councillor Roy Miller Cabinet Member for Place