Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Profession (Culture).

Please note that the appendices are non-public.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Profession (Culture) providing an update on the Beckford and Cass statue plaques project (‘Revealing the City’s Past’) as well as defining content and providing a preview of what would be published on the City Corporation’s webpages as part of the ‘Retain and Explain’ approach, noting that some of the information (in the appendices) is in the Non-Public part of the meeting.

Members noted that the matter was discussed on 05 February at the Corporation’s Equality Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and the Communications & Corporate Affairs Committee both on 05 February 2025. In both cases the proposals were welcomed, and some comments were made on the extended timeline of the exercise.

Members noted that the ‘Retain and Explain’ approach was agreed in October 2021, and that a team was put together subsequent to that agreement that included people from the Guildhall Art Gallery along with an external steering group and a range of other stakeholders. The finalised plaque designs were agreed by March 2023 following an extensive consultation period and Listed Building Consent was granted in August 2023, with the texts being agreed in May 2024. The brass plaques were completed by September 2024, and web pages to accompany the plaques were developed in late 2024.

The meeting noted that the Corporation’s Policy & Resources Committee has delegated decisions on the project to the Committee.       

RESOLVED, That the Committee:

• Approve the long historic texts for Beckford and Cass for publishing on the City Corporation’s website (Appendix 2);

• Approve the content that has been developed for publishing on the City Corporation’s website (Appendix 3);

• Note that any operational updates to the webpages (e.g. minor revisions, factual corrections) will be made under the direction of the Head of Profession for Culture; and

• Note that any new commissions or ongoing commitment to additional work would need to be considered separate to the report and could risk further prolonging the project.