Tourism Development Fund: Grant: Jersey Heritage Trust: Ice Age Archaeology Project

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A decision made 17 May 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2013-0049
Decision Summary Title :	Tourism Development Fund – approval of £199,000 grant to Jersey Heritage Trust for Ice Age Archaeology Project		Date of Decision Summary:	17th May 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Strategy Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (If exempt State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Tourism Development Fund – approval of £199,000 grant to Jersey Heritage Trust for Ice Age Archaeology Project		Date of Written Report:	17th May 2013
Written Report Author:	Strategy Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Tourism Development Fund – approval of £199,000 grant to Jersey Heritage Trust for the Ice Age Archaeology Project
Decision(s): The Minister, on the advice of the Tourism Development Fund Panel, approved the award of a grant, subject to contract and conditions, from the Tourism Development Fund of £199,000 to Jersey Heritage Trust for the Ice Age Archaeology Project.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Tourism Development Fund Panel is comprised of members drawn from the private sector who are charged with making recommendations with regard to awarding grants from the Fund. Applications are taken in two funding rounds (Spring and Autumn) which are then considered by the panel at a series of meetings. The TDF Panel considered the application at four of its five meetings in November and December 2012 and January 2013 and recommended that £199,000 is granted to Jersey Heritage Trust to support the Quaternary Archaeology and Environment of Jersey (QAEJ) work over the next three years. The Panel considers that the project offers a unique opportunity for Jersey to become a significant heritage destination.
Resource Implications: The grant is made from the Tourism Development Fund which has sufficient resources to cover the grant. There are no additional financial or manpower implications
Action required: The Minister instructs the Strategy Manager to issue the contract on the basis of any conditions stipulated by the Panel and in accordance with the Financial Direction on Grants (5.5).
Signature: Chief Minister		Position: Chief Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Tourism Development Fund: Grant: Jersey Heritage Trust: Ice Age Archaeology Project

Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT) Application to the Tourism Development Fund (TDF) for the Ice Age Archaeology Project

During the autumn 2012 application round, an application was received from JHT requesting a grant to fund the Ice Age Archaeology project to be carried out by Quaternary Archaeology and Environment for Jersey (QAEJ) over a 3 year period. The amount of the grant requested was £242,000 of which £199,000 was for the support of the QAEJ team over three summers and £43,000 to enable JHT to mount a number of exhibitions and site visits for tourists.

The TDF Panel considered the application at 4 of its 5 meetings held in November and December 2012 and January 2013. As part of the assessment process Panel members met with JHT. Dr Matt Pope, the senior academic from University College London leading the team undertaking the field work, appeared before the Panel .The application was revised in light of feedback from the Panel. After careful consideration the Panel recommended that £199,000 be granted to JHT solely to support the QAEJ work. The Panel requested that JHT reapply for the £43,000 for the interpretation element of the project in the spring application round.

The Panel considered that this project offered a unique opportunity for Jersey to become a significant heritage destination. The QAEJ team includes the leading British academics in the Ice Age Field. They have carried out survey work for the past two summers leading a team from the British Museum who have been re-cataloguing materials originally excavated from La Cotte with the assistance of JHT and the Société Jersiaise. This work received considerable national television and media coverage and has been widely published in academic circles. The QAEJ team are of the opinion that Jersey has one of the most exceptional archaeological records of Neanderthal Ice Age Man in Northwest Europe.

Funding for the QAEJ’s work to date has been provided from UK sources. The TDF grant will allow the team to undertake a 3 year project to excavate sites, research stories and recover material to form part of a narrative to provide visitor product development. It is the view of the Panel, supported by JHT and Jersey Tourism, that the results could greatly assist in further establishing Jersey as a destination for cultural and heritage tourism over the longer term. The Panel also believe that there is a need to secure the continuing expertise of the QAEJ team to ensure that this unique opportunity is not lost .

The grant TDF Panel wishes to confirm to JHT is for £199,000 for academic field work to be carried out by QAEJ over the next 3 years, commencing in July 2013.The grant will be made in approximately equal instalments over the 3 years and payments in years 2 and 3 will be contingent on the submission of progress reports. A copy of the JHT application is attached which provides further background on the project, progress to date and the long term objectives.

The Panel highly recommends the project to the Minister, and seeks approval to proceed with the grant accordingly.