Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

The Director of Open Spaces introduced a report on the proposal for a temporary installation at Parliament Hill of the Jake and Dinos Chapman sculptures currently on display at St Mary Axe.  She noted that the proposal had attracted mixed views when considered by the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee on 7 April 2014, primarily regarding the proposed location, issues of health and safety and the vulnerability of the sculptures to graffiti.

Officers had not yet determined if a location on Hampstead Heath would be the first occasion on which the sculptures had been displayed outside an urban setting such as the present location in the City, with its attendant natural surveillance by crowds and formal surveillance by CCTV to deter activities such as graffiti and climbing.  She expressed concern that, given the sculptures were made of corten steel,  persons climbing them would be at risk of cuts, abrasions and potentially tetanus.  She added that there had been instances of the sculptures being climbed upon in the City and this activity would  be more likely on the Heath.  The Director noted that graffiti arising on the sculptures could not be cleaned quickly or effectively without potentially damaging the uniformly-rusted appearance of the sculpture.

Given these concerns, she noted that Officers had decided to revisit the option on siting the sculptures in Golders Hill Park.  She cautioned that the planning application process for siting the sculptures on Parliament Hill had already commenced with the London Borough of Camden, and that it was not clear if an installation at Golders Hill Park would require similar planning permission to be sought from the London Borough of Barnet.

The Chairman thanked the Director for her update and added that Golders Hill Park, unlike Parliament Hill, was an enclosed site that was locked at night, and given the concerns expressed over safety and security it would be wise to amend the recommendations of the report to give Officers the flexibility to explore the installation of the sculptures at Golders Hill Park.  The Operational Manager added that Golders Hill Park had originally been considered as the location for the sculptures.  A Member noted that he would prefer the sculptures to be located at Golders Hill Park.  In response to a query from a further member, the Operational Manager noted that the sculptures would be more easily monitored by staff should they be located at Golders Hill Park.

A member noted that, in his experience, the display of a sculpture at Aldgate New Square had not resulted in problems with graffiti but nevertheless he agreed that the health and safety issue of climbing remained to be addressed in the event of the sculptures being located on Parliament Hill.  A further member noted that the 9m tall Writer sculpture had been climbed when it had been located upon the Heath and therefore it was inevitable some members of the public would do the same should the sculptures be located on Parliament Hill.

The Deputy Chairman noted that, given the concerns expressed both by the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee and the members of the Committee that day, it would be reasonable to amend the recommendations to give Officers the flexibility to address these concerns.

RESOLVED:

That the views of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee were received by the Hampstead Heath Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee on the proposal to install temporarily the sculptures known as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly on the Heath.

That the Hampstead Heath Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee approves the proposal to install temporarily the sculptures known as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly on the Heath or in Golders Hill Park, with a preference for Golders Hill Park, provided health and safety issues can be resolved.