Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor R. Bayford and  Councillor P. Moore.

To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

Mr Howes introduced his report and the background to the matter and informed the Working Party that Mr Chris Nicholas had kindly agreed to attend to provided advice to the Working Party and to contribute to the discussion.

It was also noted that Kate Willis-Crowley had also been invited to attend however she was not able to participate at this meeting.

There was a widespread discussion which included the following matters:

• The context of statues etc. change over time;
• Could the existing statues' purpose be changed, so they became a tool to educate people?
• We cannot change history but we can educate the future;
• We need to be honest about our past;
• We should consider new and proposed statues and memorials, not just the existing ones. Examples included those being considered by Turner Contemporary and a statue to celebrate George IV at Ramsgate;
• Whilst Thanet’s stance is positive, some authorities e.g. Liverpool City Council are further advanced and we should seek to learn from them;
• Whilst we do not have the resources to proactively review every statue and memorial, we can be proactive in encouraging the public to make representations on existing statues etc;
• The council should have a foundation statement to describe the context of our review of statues and memorials etc.

(i)  Mr Howes would provide Chris Nicholas and Kate Willis-Crowley with a copy of the initial report to the Working Party and a copy of the list of memorials etc.

(ii)  Mr Howes would look at the approach taken by Liverpool City Council.

(iii)  Mr Howes would prepare a foundation statement to set out the context of  our Work.

(iv)  When this work was completed Mr Howes would look at how we might publicise more widely or interest in seeking representations from the public.