National Museum Cardiff paintings at risk from leaking rain

Jane Richardson says there are buckets outside her office "which pretty much every time I come in have got water coming through" into them

Staff at the National Museum Cardiff are on nightly standby to remove paintings from walls because of leaking rainwater, its boss has said.

Jane Richardson told a Senedd committee that there were four buckets to catch rain outside her office door.

She said there was a £90m repair backlog across all of Wales' national museums, that she is in charge of.

The Welsh government said it had given the museums' funding to help with the most pressing maintenance projects.

Ms Richardson, the chief executive of Museum Wales which brands itself as the Welsh translation Amgueddfa Cymru, was speaking to the Senedd's culture committee.

• Ex-rugby boss bullying row cost taxpayers £600,000

• Concern over £325k payment to ex-museum chief

• Wales' national museums can't find 2,000 items

The organisation runs seven national museums with collections from around the world.

There are five million items in the national collection, including paintings, fine art and statutes as well as the library and archives, many housed in Grade I listed buildings such as the National Museum in Cardiff and St Fagans Castle.

Ms Richardson told Senedd members that the entire museum estate had a £90m repair backlog with the situation at the National Museum in Cardiff causing grave concern.

He said: "Across our whole estate we have £90m problem and at National Museum Cardiff our most critical urgent works are £25m.

"You don't have to do it one year, you could do it in a phased way over four but if don't do it, the future of that building is of grave concern".

The Welsh government said the museum had given assurances that the "collections are currently safe"

She said the Welsh government had funded some repairs to the roof at the National Museum Cardiff but it consisted of "50 different structures", that sealing leaks was complicated and staff had to be prepared to help out when it rained.

"When we are expecting a storm or heavy rain, we have to put staff on standby, literally, so they can come into the building in the middle of the night to take paintings off the walls".

"I'm not exaggerating there - that is what our staff do.

"We never, ever compromise the safety of the works, we always have staff available, they know exactly what to do and they do it regularly but that is the reality of my colleagues' working life at the moment."

She was worried about the conditions of the building, not just for the collection but also as a working environment.

"If you were to come and visit me in my office, just outside the door to where my office is, there are four buckets for water which pretty much every time I come in have got water coming through into the buckets.

"We have inadequate storage - that means the collection is being kept in conditions that are not appropriate and that also means that conservators can't access it to care for it or make it accessible."

Ms Richardson said she would be providing the Welsh government with more information about the required repairs.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We take the safety of the national collections very seriously.

"As part of its grant in aid for this financial year, Amgueddfa Cymru is receiving more than £4.7m towards capital maintenance which has helped to address the most pressing maintenance projects.

"Whilst we are aware of the longer-term maintenance issues, the museum has assured us that the collections are currently safe."

• PARANORMAL: Chilling ghost stories and words appearing on the walls...

• BLACK MUSIC WALES: The artists who pioneered black music in Wales