Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the use of memorabilia in the City Hall:

“Relevant Background Information

      At its meeting of June 2009, the Committee reviewed the minutes of the Commemorations and Memorabilia Working Group, and resolved that ‘the Committee noted the minutes of the meeting of the Working Group of 20th May and agreed that the Working Group be advised that no recommendations would be adopted by the Council until such times as a report on all the actions which had been agreed in relation to the location of memorabilia in the City Hall had been submitted to the Committee for consideration, thereby providing the Members with an overall view of the proposals’.

      The purpose of this report is therefore to outline the decisions already taken with regard to this matter and to provide some additional detail as requested by the Committee.

      Members will recall that, in October 2008, a report was tabled by the Head of Facilities Management in respect of the revised approach to tours and the associated impact on the proposed uses of art, artefacts and other memorabilia held by the Council. That report recommended the creation of seven principal themes, namely:-

1.      the history of the City Hall (located in the marble area);

2.      our ‘Freedom of the City’ recipients (located in the Rotunda area);

3.      Belfast in the 2 World Wars (located in the Rotunda area);

4.      notable Belfast citizens (located in the Reception Hall);

5.      the Titanic & Belfast’s Lord Mayors (located in the Banqueting Hall);

6.      the civic regalia (located in the Robing Room); and

7.      a display of civic gifts received by the city (located in the East Entrance area).

      On foot of these themes a number of items were to be used in different ways. The principal changes recommended in the report were as follows:-

·         the Covenant table will remain in the Council Chamber but would be supplemented with archive photographs of the signing of the covenant in 1912, new signage and additional historical material while tours are in progress;

·         the civic regalia including maces, chains of office and robes currently stored in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour would be moved to public view in the Robing Room;

·         the Seaman Maginess portrait would be moved from the Robing Room to the Rotunda;

·         a number of items connected with the Freedom of the City including caskets and scrolls currently in the Reception Hall and crystal in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour and silver keys currently in storage would be brought together in a display on the Rotunda;

·         the ‘No Mean City’ display (suitably updated) which was previously located on the ground floor west corridor would be moved to the Reception Hall to form the central part of a Belfast Citizens exhibit (note: location now changed to be adjacent to the new exhibition area) ;

·         a number of items connected with the history of the City Hall including the black and white photographs in the Robing Room and the charters, silver trowel and gavel in the Reception Hall would be brought together and put on permanent display in dedicated display cases in the marble area;

·         the portraits of Sir Edward Harland and Viscount & Viscountess Pirrie currently in the Council Chamber & Reception Hall would be moved to the Banqueting Hall; and

·         a number of crystal and silver items presented to the city and currently in storage or in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour would be brought together in a new display in the East entrance area.

      Considerably more detail in respect of each of the themed areas and the proposed uses of current memorabilia can be found in the appendix which was circulated to the Members.

      The Committee endorsed these proposals on the grounds that (a) they were necessary in the context of enhancing the tour offering within the building and (b) that they provided an opportunity to comply with some outstanding recommendations contained in the of the Advisory Panel on City Hall Memorabilia submitted in February 2003.

      While the relevant officers are, of course, prepared to review the current proposals, the Committee will also be aware that the scheduled re?opening date for the City Hall is 5th October 2009 and that the final tour offering must be in place for that date. Planning for this is at an advanced stage, so it is hoped that the information contained herein will be acceptable to the Committee and that the necessary work can proceed as originally planned.

      However, should the Committee wish to see any significant changes or additions made to current proposals, these can be discussed with the Commemorations and Memorabilia Working Group and the Good Relations Manager over the coming weeks and – hopefully - incorporated into the final designs in ways which will not necessitate a postponement of the tours commencement date.

Key Issues

      The key issue is whether or not the Committee is content with current proposals in respect of memorabilia held by the council or would wish to re-consider this matter at this time.

Resource Implications

      There will clearly be some resource implications if a decision is taken to review the current approach in any significant way, but it is difficult to quantify this.

Recommendations

      It is recommended that the Committee re-affirm its decision of October 2008 in respect of the revised approach to tours and the associated use of items of art, artefacts and other memorabilia owned or held by the council.

Decision Tracking

      The target date for the delivery of the new, themed tour service remains 5th October 2009, however if significant changes are proposed this may alter.”

            During discussion, a number of Members referred to their desire to see a set of recommendations to the Committee which reflected the need to balance the display of memorabilia in the City Hall to reflect all traditions and stated that in their view the Council should not accept any of the recommendations until the totality of displays in the City Hall was agreed.  Other Members pointed out that it was important to proceed with the current recommendation in order to have displays available in time for the reopening of the City Hall and that further suggestions could be brought forward by the Memorabilia Working Group.

            After further discussion, it was

Moved by Councillor P. Maskey,

Seconded by Councillor M. Browne,

      That the Committee agrees to reject the recommendation as set out in the report.

            On a vote by show of hands five Members voted for the proposal and seven against and it was accordingly declared lost.

            The Committee accordingly agreed to adopt the recommendation as set out in the report.