Museum with Wham! memorabilia opposes move

A museum has opposed what it described as "ill-conceived plans" to relocate it after more than three decades.

Bushey Museum and Art Gallery, on Rudolph Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, said Hertsmere Borough Council wanted to relocate it to the proposed redevelopment of Bushey Country Club on the High Street, which has been earmarked for housing and a new community hub.

The museum holds the largest collection of public artworks in Hertfordshire and also has a display of Wham! memorabilia.

The council said it recognised the "strength of feeling about the museum's future and will continue to engage with stakeholders as proposals are developed".

It added that it had supported the museum for many years and similar to many historical buildings the site required "significant ongoing investment to maintain it".

Future costs to maintain the museum's current building would include replacement of its electrical systems and accessibility improvements, the council said.

The museum is currently situated in a building dating back to 1909, which was formerly the offices of Bushey Urban District Council.

It now features artworks by 19th century portraitist and polymath Sir Hubert von Herkomer and students of his famous Bushey Art School, notably Lucy Kemp-Welch, who illustrated the 1915 edition of Black Beauty.

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The Wham! memorabilia, including a copy of their debut album, Fantastic, reflects George Michael's connection to Bushey.

He moved to the area as a teenager with his family and met Andrew Ridgeley at Bushey Meads School Sixth Form, before the pair went on to form the band in the 1980s.

Ridgeley said the tracks written for Fantastic were "good pop songs".

As part of the Bushey Country Club redevelopment proposals, the council has been exploring the creation of a new community hub, which would include a modern museum and gallery facilities.

Yet Bushey Museum and Art Gallery said the first public consultation of the plans showed a vague, artist's impression of a modern white building with no real indication of its size or interior layout.

The museum also raised concerns the new space would not provide enough storage for its vast collection of art and heritage objects, and a relocation would incur considerable costs.

"The council seem to have made their minds up without any real, meaningful or constructive consultation," a spokesperson for the museum's trustees said.

The council said the aim of the move would be to provide a facility that would better protect the museum's collections, while creating improved opportunities for exhibitions, education and public access.

During the previous financial year, the authority said it had provided the museum with more than £103,000 in direct and indirect support through grant funding, building maintenance, repairs, utilities, insurance and other services.

"No final design for museum accommodation has been approved, and no final decision has been made," the council added.

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