Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members on the requirement within the City Cemetery Heritage Project for aerial digital mapping.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        In the absence of an agreed Council Drone Policy, to give special permission to allow a suitably competent company with sufficient public liability insurance, to undertake the necessary aerial digital mapping as part of the City Cemetery Heritage Project.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Project Background

3.2       In late 2013, BCC began liaising with Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) around potential to apply into their Parks for People Fund.  The fund is designed to protect and enhance existing heritage in parks/cemeteries across UK and attract/encourage more people to engage with this heritage

3.3       After visits to several Council sites, City Cemetery was agreed as having vast potential in this regard and in mid-2014, a Council Project Sponsor and internal project team was established to develop the work.

3.4       The overall objective of the project is to ‘protect and enhance the existing history and heritage of Belfast City Cemetery and to encourage more people to access, engage with and understand it in order that it is safeguarded for future generations to enjoy, and the initial project identified the following project elements:

·        Capital - new visitor centre

·        Restoration - of key listed assets

·        Interpretive - improved signage, storytelling, genealogy etc.

·        Biodiversity - enhance natural heritage

·        Promotion/Engagement - encourage greater engagement with site from wide range of stakeholders

3.5       The Stage 1 application was submitted to HLF in March 2015 (high level project plan) and Stage 1 funding of £160k (match funded with £60k from BCC) was secured in late 2015.  The stage 1 funding was used to engage relevant external expertise (design team, conservation architect, interpretive planner, activity planner) and work up detailed project plan (18 month process).

3.6       The Stage 2 application was submitted to HLF in late 2017 with delivery funding of £1.67m secured from HLF in summer 2018 (match funded with £620k from BCC).  2019 was spent finalising designs/costs, securing planning, procuring contractors etc and planning for the move of the Council service yard to another location within the site to accommodate the new project.  The move of the service yard is funded by Council up to value of £420K.

3.7       The contractor has been appointed for the three core elements of service yard move, visitor centre build and restoration of listed assets.  Additionally, an engagement officer has been recruited.  Works are due to commence on site in February 2020 alongside an extensive activity plan delivered by the engagement officer over the next three years (tours programme, schools programme, volunteer initiatives, events etc.).

3.8       In tandem, a range of non-capital elements such as a detailed activity plan, extensive research and robust interpretive plan are also being delivered. The delivery of these will be further enhanced by the recent recruitment of a dedicated engagement officer.

3.9       Another key aspect of the project is the genealogy element, where people will be able to search and interact with the cemeteries burial records. This will involve the enhancement of the current records and the development of appropriate hardware and software to ensure that the records can be accessed in a user friendly way, from both within the visitor centre and remotely.

3.10      A key requirement of the digital element of the project is that the cemetery is digitally mapped. This involves photographing the cemetery from the air and geo-tagging each grave and monument. Photographs are then also taken of each grave. This means that graves are not only much easier for cemetery visitors to physically locate, but also that pictures of each and every grave/monument within the site can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

3.11      The digital mapping element of the project is seen as absolutely essential to the project’s success and requires a drone flight over the site. In the absence of an agreed Council Drone Policy, special permission for this flight over City Cemetery is therefore being formally requested through Committee.

3.12      Financial & Resource Implications

            The costs of the aerial digital mapping of the site have been built in to the costs of the overall project.

3.13      Equality or Good Relations Implications and Rural Needs Assessment

            These have been considered throughout the project with necessary screenings undertaken.  These will be reviewed as the project progresses.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.