Photo and mosaic by @MelanieMosaics – It was on my list of things to follow-up before I ended up in hospital in December 2021.
I’ve been a consistent moaner and critic of many-a-piece of public art in Cambridge. Some of you might think with good reason. Others may think grey is wonderful.
I’m just pulling out a couple of these as reminders to follow this up with local councillors over the summer.
This one is particularly lovely – one which Mel tweeted over to me and Cllr Katie Thornburrow (Lab – Petersfield) the Executive Councillor for Planning at Cambridge City Council
There are limited edition smaller prints of the barn owl mosaic going – see here.
Anyway, I’ll leave this here before I forget. Because compare the above with the community centre at Clay Farm, Trumpington. And the ‘sculpture’ [Bronze House] outside. No, I don’t like it at all – but I can understand *why* they came up with it and the process of doing so.
“The budget for the proposals is £57,000 excluding VAT, which is approximately 1% of the
construction cost of the building as required by the Clay Farm Public Art Strategy 2010.”
You can read the public art strategy for Clay Farm here.
Make of it what you will.
You can read the full document by typing in the planning reference 13/0912/REM to https://applications.greatercambridgeplanning.org/online-applications/ in the simple search option at the bottom of the screen.
…which will take you to a ***long list of documents***
…and the one you’re looking to view is…at the bottom!
It’s the public art delivery plan. (Ticked)
If the document opens and looks something like the one below, it’s the right one.
…as it details the reasons why, the justifications for, and the budget allocated.
…and on p16, you have the breakdown of the costs. Whether it’s value for money is a subjective decision – most importantly not for people like me but for the residents that live in and around the square and who use the centre frequently.
I hope this little diversion/escapade helps people to find the documents concerned and what to look for!
Food for thought?
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The Cambridge Town Owl 