Councillors in Fife will be given a say on future public art installations.
Members of the region’s environment, finance and scrutiny committee met to discuss the discharge of a policy that calls on Fife Council to spend 1% of project construction costs on public art.
The issue hit the headlines this year after a number of councillors expressed concerns over the sums required by the local authority to meet its own policy, given its urgent need to save money.
However, a proposal to establish an officer working group to take control of future public art decisions was met with derision from some members, prompting an agreement that councillors would be allowed to have a say on behalf of their communities.
Councillor Ian Chisholm, representative for Lochgelly and Cardenden, told The Courier that it is imperative that local members are consulted on new, potentially controversial artwork.
“I’m worried about officer-led committees,” he said. “I’m not happy with public art policy being decided by officers because it’s councillors like us that get the flak for it.”
At a full meeting of Fife Council in April, a motion was passed by councillors reaffirming the local authority’s commitment to public art.
However, the move also called for revisions to the existing policy of contributing 1% of project costs towards public art, given the council’s desperate need to make significant savings.
The matter was highlighted by councillors in March when a new £10.5 million care home project was approved for Glenrothes.
The public art policy means that a piece of work costing in the region of £105,000 will need to be created in order not to contravene regulations, prompting anger from councillors across the political spectrum.
Meanwhile, developers have also expressed concern, having stated that the additional expense could jeopardise projects.
However, only a small number of developments have required public art to be installed under council policy, including the Tesco and Morrisons supermarkets in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, respectively.
Supplementary planning guidance has meant the “1% policy” has not been mandatory since 2012; however, new guidelines, expected to be passed at a meeting of the council’s executive committee next week, will supersede this entirely.
A report prepared for councillors said that the new public art policy would be “appropriate and provide value for money.”