| Title:
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REPORT ON BRINGING THE "SS NOMADIC" TO BELFAST - THE ACQUISITION AND RESTORATION OF THE "SS NOMADIC"
TOGETHER WITH THE MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE RELATING TO THE REPORT AND THE MINUTES OF EVIDENCE FOURTH REPORT SESSION 2009/2010 |
| By: |
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Assembly: Public Accounts Committee |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| List price:
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£9.50 |
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| ISBN 10: |
0339602953 |
| ISBN 13: |
9780339602953 |
| Publisher: |
STATIONERY OFFICE, BELFAST |
| Pub. date: |
12 November, 2009 |
| Series: |
Northern Ireland Assembly Reports Session 2009-2010, 17/09/10R |
| Pages: |
41 |
| Synopsis: |
The Public Accounts Committee met on 17 September 2009 to consider the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on "Bringing the SS Nomadic to Belfast: The Acquisition and Restoration of the SS Nomadic" (NIA 165/08-09, ISBN 9780337094590). In January 2006 the Department for Social Development bought the SS Nomadic at auction. The Department paid just over the auction reserve of GBP 170,000 to secure it. The total cost of purchase, including auction fees and insurance, was GBP 263,000. Up to December 2008, the Department incurred a further GBP 650,000 on the transportation and restoration of the vessel and providing financial assistance to the SS Nomadic Charitable Trust. In addition, the cost to date of departmental staff time committed to the project is about GBP 100,000; staff involvement from now until the initial stage of completion is likely to be of the same order and may increase as project oversight intensifies. In purchasing the Nomadic, the Department acknowledges that it was getting involved in areas in which it had very little experience.That is evident by the significant additional costs incurred by the Department since the Nomadic was purchased and the delays in finalizing the Conservation Management Plan and raising the necessary funds for its restoration. The delays in progressing the project also increase the risk of reputational damage to both the Department and Trust should the Nomadic not be fully open to the public at the time of the centenary celebrations of the launch of the Titanic in 2011. The Department's business case for the Nomadic considered only the purchase and transportation of the vessel and did not adopt a longer term view by considering the implications of the restoration, including the impact on scarce public resources. In the Committee's view the Department and Trust must continue to create and maintain effective relationships with those progressing the Titanic Quarter and the Titanic Signature Projects in order to maximise their impact on the Nomadic. The Department, in particular, must also be proactive in contributing to a wider overall maritime heritage strategy to ensure the Nomadic is given prominence within it. |
| Publication: |
UK |
| Imprint: |
Stationery Office, Belfast |
| Returns: |
Non-returnable |