Restoration of George II statue, Royal Square

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A decision made 9 December 2009 regarding: Restoration of George II statue, Royal Square.

Decision Reference: MD-PE-2009-0196
Decision Summary Title:	Percent for Art funding for the restoration of George II statue, Royal Square		Date of Decision Summary:	8 December 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Acting Assistant Director Performance and Operations		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title:	Percent for Art – Contribution towards the restoration of George II Statue in Royal Square		Date of Written Report:	8 December 2009
Written Report Author:	Acting Assistant Director Performance and Operations		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Percent for Art – Contribution towards the restoration of the George II statue in the Royal Square.
Decision(s): The Minister confirmed that funds secured by virtue of the Percent for Art programme, provided by developers in lieu of a specific public art project, would be utilised to facilitate the restoration of the statue of George II in the Royal Square.
Reason(s) for Decision: The status of the statue, the presence of funds in the Percent for Art budget, and the policy which allows for the budget to be used for the maintenance of statuary authorisation of providing the funding is appropriate.
Resource Implications: The funding is available through payments made by developers in lieu of providing public art directly in respect of their development.
Action required: Inform Transport and Technical Services that the funding will be made available on the presentation of an invoice from the agreed contractor, and confirmation from the Jersey Heritage Trust and the Minister’s Percent for Art advisor, that the works have been completed to an appropriate standard.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Restoration of George II statue, Royal Square

Item No:
		Date:8Dec 2009

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

% For Art – Contribution towards the restoration of Statue of George II in Royal Square

Purpose of the Report

This purpose of this report is to set out the context within which funds secured through the % for Art programme are to be utilised for the maintenance/restoration of the statue of George II in Royal Square.

Background

The Percent for Art programme was established to enable developers to make a contribution to the provision of public art in Jersey. Public Art is widely recognised as being beneficial to the cultural and artistic well being of any place and the continued provision of art that can stimulate debate and enhance the environment is something that should be encouraged.

The Percent for Art Policy allows for the contributions to provide for “sculpture, monuments, memorials, fountains (including the restoration of existing statuary)”.

There have been previous recent attempts to carry out restoration works to one of the most recognisable pieces for public art on the Island the statue of George II in Royal Square which have been unsuccessful. Following discussions with Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT) and one of the Minister’s Percent for Art advisors it became clear that full and proper restoration would be desirable. The statue is actually vested with Transport & Technical Services (T&TS) but at present they do not have the budget for these highly specialized works. JHT and the Minister’s advisor have obtained a quotation for this specialist piece of work from someone who they are satisfied can carry out the works to the required standards. They indicate that it represents appropriate value for money for the task involved (£20,948.00). T&TS wil provide support (scaffolding etc) for the works

Discussion and recommendation

In the past developers have been amenable to making a contribution to Public Art through the Percent for Art process but have been unable to identify a specific project to which they wish to contribute. In these cases a sum equivalent to what the contribution would be expected has been deposited with the Department for use when a suitable project is identified.

Given the status of the statue, the presence of funds in the Percent for Art budget and the Policy which allows for the budget to be used for the maintenance of statuary authorisation of providing the funding is recommended.

Reason(s) for Decision

The status of the statue, the presence of funds in the Percent for Art budget and the Policy which allows for the budget to be used for the maintenance of statuary authorisation of providing the funding is appropriate.

Legal and resource implications

The funding is available through payments made by developers in lieu of providing public art directly in respect of their development (ref Business Account IB00 Object Account 202156 Subsidiary IA3).

Action Required

Inform T&TS that the funding will be made available on the presentation of an invoice from the agreed contractor and confirmation from the JHT and the Minister’s Percent for Art advisor that the works have been completed to an appropriate standard.

Written by:	Richard Glover, Assistant Director

Endorsed by:	Peter Thorne, Director