Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

Community Services Scrutiny Committee on 18 January 2018 considered a report on how the Council could mitigate the impact of development through public art. The report set out the future aspirations for public art in the City, and the need to develop a Public Art Strategy, which addresses changes to the national planning system and planning regulations, and supports the new Local Plan. Officers committed to update the Scrutiny Committee in June 2018.

 

The Officer’s report clarified our current policy position for the inclusion of public art within new development and is drafted with technical input from the Planning Policy team, set in the context of the Local Plan. It also set out the Council’s plans to:

a.    review the Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which will include a separate review of the current Public Art policy;

b.    review the commissioning processes to comply with changes in the Planning system;

c.    improve future public art delivery, whether through the Planning process; or the Council’s own commissioning capital programme;

d.    develop a Public Art Strategy for the city.

 

The report to the Community Services Scrutiny Committee in January 2018, also set out the approach to the Council’s 2018 small-scale (up to £15,000) public art S106 grant-funding round, as a first step alongside possibilities for subsequent larger grants and future Council led commissions. Twenty one grant applications have been received and assessed against the agreed selection criteria. More details can be found in section 5 of this report; and on the Council’s Public Art Grants web page (www.cambridge.gov.uk/public-art-grants).

 

Officers recommended grant-funding for five of these small-scale public art projects (totalling £89k), plus earmarking funding for another two proposals (totalling £25k), that would benefit from further development. This reflects both the emphasis on focusing on high quality public art that meets the S106 selection criteria and the value of holding some public art S106 funding back to enable the Council to afford some further projects as part of its future Public Art Strategy. Paragraph 6.1 sets out the remaining availability of public art S106 funding for local projects on the basis that the recommendations are approved.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Streets and Open Spaces

       i.          Supported and approved the development of a new Public Art Strategy for the city.

     ii.          Allocated the following small-scale public art S106 grants, subject to grant agreement and any other conditions set out below (see Section 5 and Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report):

a.    £15,000 grant to The Cambridge Junction for the ‘News, News, News’ project;

b.    £15,000 grant to the In Your Way Festival for the ‘Theatre as Architecture: Architecture as Theatre’ project;

c.    £14,000 grant to New International Encounter (NIE) Theatre for the ‘Tales from the Edge of Town 2070’ project;

d.    £15,000 grant to Rowan Humberstone for the ‘Ecology Sculpture at Sheep’s Green’ project; and

e.    £30,000 grant to Unison for the ‘Faith and Hope’ commemoration of the 100th anniversary of votes for women, subject to business case approval.

   iii.          Earmarked public art S106 funding for the following public art proposals (subject to review/confirmation within 12 months), which have potential but which would benefit from further development with support and advice from the Public Art Officer.

a.    £10,000 earmarked as a possible grant to Chesterton Community Association for its Chesterton Village Sign proposal;

b.    £15,000 earmarked as a possible grant to HistoryWorks for its proposal called ‘Travellers and Outsiders: Stourbridge Soundscapes Across Time’.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Streets and Open Spaces Development Manager, plus Public Art Officer.

 

The Public Art Officer said the following in response to Members’ questions:

       i.          When the Planning Officer had negotiated s106 funding the developer specified £10,000 should be allocated to Chesterton Village sign.

     ii.          Applications had to meet specific standards to receive funding. Projects such as Crowded Room (agenda P101), Nun’s Way Pavilion Mural (P104) and Transition Cambridge did not meet criteria so were not eligible for funding. Officers gave advice to applicants and signposted them to more appropriate funding sources where available.

   iii.          The Faith & Hope Project (P96) requested a budget of £30,000 as it was a large project. The focus was on the Suffrage Movement in Cambridge, not Unison who proposed the project. Unison deliberately chose sufferage colours in its branding to show solidarity, so there would be similar colours on display at the event.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.