Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

The Council’s approach to public art has, for many years, been under-pinned by both:

      i.         ambitious policy for high quality, original public art, combining professional expertise and community engagement; and

    ii.         planning obligations from developers to mitigate the impact of their developments, either via on-site public art or by providing off-site financial contributions (S106 funding).

 

Against a context of dwindling off-site S106 funding availability for public art (which will reach ‘best before/expiry dates’ over the next five years), the Officer’s report set out a new way forward, including the new Manifesto for Public Art.

 

The proposed Manifesto is a public declaration of the City’s intentions for public art commissioning and a reminder of the benefits of public art and the achievements so far; it demonstrates the City’s commitment to deliver new public art and its support of best practice when commissioning.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Communities

      i.         Agreed to release S106 funds currently allocated to the Southern Connections public art commission (see paragraph 3.6 and Appendix B of the Officer’s report) for use on future public art projects.

    ii.         Approved delegated authority to the Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities, in consultation with the Executive Councillor and Opposition Spokes for Communities and the Chair of the Environment and Community Services Scrutiny Committee to:

a.    take stock of the progress made on the on-going History Trails 2 project (see Appendix B of the Officer’s report) in order to identify next steps and bring the project to a conclusion in 2022/23; and

b.    review the following proposals (for which S106 funding has been earmarked but not yet allocated) to confirm the funding allocation via the development of the Public Art Commissioning Strategy or whether release the earmarked funds for future public art projects (see paragraphs 3.6-3.7 and Appendix B of the Officer’s report):

1.                 Travellers & Outsiders public art proposal

2.                 Chesterton village sign proposal.

   iii.         Agreed to allocate between a further £80,000 to £150,000 of off-site public art S106 ‘strategic’ funds to enable the delivery and/ or future development of the public art installation arising from the “To the River” residency, subject to a constructive public consultation response, planning permission and other necessary consents and confirmation of project affordability within the proposed increased budget range (see paragraph 3.8 of the Officer’s report).

  iv.         Instructed officers to seek and identify eligible proposals for local public art through the Commissioning Strategy in or near:

a.    Romsey ward, incorporating use of around £32,500 of local S106 funds that need to be contractually committed by autumn 2023; and

b.    Queen Edith’s ward, incorporating use of around £12,500 of local S106 funds that need to be contractually committed by spring 2024.

 

These proposals would be reported back to this committee for approval of S106 funding allocations later this year. (See paragraphs 3.9-3.11 and Appendix C of the Officer’s report.)

 

    v.         Approved the use of the Manifesto for Public Art (Appendix D) and the Public Art Commissioning Strategy principles (see Section 4 of the Officer’s report).

  vi.         In the context of the new Manifesto for Public Art, instructed officers to:

a.    identify appropriate public art projects to make effective use of existing off-site S106 funds that need to be used between 2025 and 2027;

b.    develop a Public Art Commissioning Strategy for the City (including possible future projects) which will guide future commissioning principles for the delivery of all public art in the City, whether through Council commission or the planning process and report back to this committee later this year (see paragraph 3.12 of the Officer’s report);

c.    explore options for accessing the wider resources required to achieve the Manifesto for Public Art’s aims and objectives (see paragraph 5.1 of the Officer’s report).

 

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 Development Manager (Streets & Open Spaces).

 

Council Copley made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Expressed concerns about the benefits of public art listed in the public art consultation.

    ii.         Queried if all stakeholder groups had been engaged in the public art consultation process.

   iii.         Queried how to measure the public art project outcomes and if the project is delivering against these.

 

Labour Councillors made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Were keen to make the most of public art opportunities. Wanted diversity and inclusion as part of the commissioning process.

    ii.         Funding came from s106 agreements so its uses were limited compared to general council funding.

 

The Development Manager (Streets & Open Spaces) said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         The Officer’s report referred to offsite funded projects not on-site ones.

    ii.         Feedback had been received on manifesto proposals for public art delivery.

   iii.         https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/to-the-river-project 'To the river' project. A residency celebrating and promoting the story of the River Cam and its role in shaping the city.

  iv.         The council had a legal duty to spend s106 funding in a timely and correct manner.

    v.         It was correct that the £290,000 is available to spend after the £150,000 is allocated not £150,000 from £290,000.

 

Councillors Copley and Porrer requested a roll call vote as per section 46.2 of the constitution on page 143 which reads "Any two members of a committee present and voting on any matter may require the names of the persons voting for, the persons voting against and the persons abstaining to be recorded in the minutes."

 

Councillors requested a change to the recommendations. Councillor Copley proposed to amend the recommendation in the Officer’s report:

·      2.3 Await the response of the public consultation response to the public art installation arising from the "To the River" residency, and defer allocation of off-site public art S106 until the views of residents are known on the proposal, and the consultation is fully reported. This report will then be brought back to a future scrutiny committee with recommendations (see paragraph 3.8).

 

and

 

3.8 Recommendation 2.3 awaits the consultation response before allocation of further funding for the ‘To the River’ public art installation. a. The River Cam artist residency was allocated £120,000 of S106 public art funding, as a strategic project, in January 2018. Since 2019, public engagement events have focused on understanding the influence that the River Cam has on Cambridge and its residents and visitors, with a view to providing a permanent work of public art on the River Cam.
b. Following extensive engagement during 2018/19, the artist has now developed a proposal for the permanent artwork (‘Selvedge’), drawing on the textile industry that existed in Cambridge in 17th century and, specifically, the Cambridge weave, still used in
graduation gowns produced today. The proposal is to fix a metal artwork proposed to the existing metal sheet piling at Sheep’s Green.
c. Public consultation on these proposals took place until mid-March 2022. Planning permission, Environment Agency consent and consent from the Conservators of the River Cam are also required. d. The consultation response will be reported back to a future scrutiny committee, to then consider what funding to allocate to this project. If the project were to continue as described, between £80,000 and £150,000 would be needed for the artwork in addition to the remaining amount from the original £120,000 budget for the ‘To the River’ artist residency7. Whilst it is hoped that the extra funding required for production may be at the lower end of this range, delivery costs for the final artwork would have to be confirmed, due to fluctuating market prices for materials (in the context of both the Coronavirus pandemic and Brexit). Any of the additional £80,000 to £150,000 allocation not used would be returned to strategic funds for other future projects.

 

The Committee rejected the recommendation by 5 votes to 3:

·      For: Councillors Copley, Payne and Porrer.

·      Against: Councillors Ashton, H. Davies, Healy, Sheil and Sweeney.

 

The Committee resolved by 5 votes to 3 to endorse the (unamended) substantive recommendations as set out in the Officer’s report:

·      For: Councillors Copley, Payne and Porrer.

·      Against: Councillors Ashton, H. Davies, Healy, Sheil and Sweeney.

 

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.