The Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee met to discuss the City Arts Initiative, the Sculpture in the City programme, the revenue outturn forecast, and Keats House. The committee approved two blue plaque proposals, rejected one, and deferred a decision on the Sculpture in the City programme pending further information. The committee also reviewed the revenue outturn forecast as at Quarter 2 2025/26.

Sculpture in the City

The committee deferred a decision on the proposed delivery model and governance of Sculpture in the City (SITC), pending further information. SITC is an annual public art programme in the City of London, which began in 2011. The 14th edition (2025) successfully delivered 11 artworks.

The proposal under consideration was to transfer the SITC programme from the City Corporation to a new Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee¹. The committee had been asked to approve the in-principle transfer of the SITC project to a new CIC. The committee was also asked to delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Policy & Resources and Culture Heritage and Libraries Committees, to advance from in-principle to completing the operational details of any CIC establishment, and to approve that the governance of any CIC be taken through the appropriate City Corporation Committee process.

The committee had previously received a report on the successful delivery of the 14th edition (2025-26) and a proposal for a future delivery model in November 2025, but deferred a decision, requesting more information on the details of the proposed transfer, in particular, the governance arrangements for establishing a new legal entity and reporting requirements to the committee.

The report noted that partners want the project to evolve and three options were assessed: keep it in house, terminate it, or transfer it to a new Community Interest Company limited by guarantee. Keeping SITC internal was deemed financially unrealistic and risked partner withdrawal, while ending the programme would lose a major cultural asset. Transferring SITC to a CIC was considered the best chance for long-term sustainability, enabling greater fundraising, operational flexibility and some continued City Corporation oversight.

Members raised concerns about the potential loss of control by the City of London Corporation (CoLC) over the quality of the pieces and artists if the programme was transferred to a CIC model. They emphasised the importance of ensuring appropriate and suitable governance and oversight of any new CIC. The committee requested further information on whether the CoLC could retain a degree of control over the quality of the pieces without negatively impacting flexibility.

The committee heard that external partners make a significant contribution to the programme and would reasonably expect to influence the programme to a proportionate extent.

The committee agreed to defer any in-principle decision until more clarity is available on option 3, to include in particular clarity on the governance and Board composition of any final transfer to a CIC model or any agreement to an in-principle transfer of the SITC programme to a CIC.

City Arts Initiative

The committee approved two blue plaque proposals and rejected one, following recommendations from the City Arts Initiative (CAI).

The CAI is a group made up of City Corporation officers, external arts experts and City of London members.

The approved proposals were:

• A blue plaque at 17 Gough Square, the location of where Francis Barber[^3] lived from 1752-1756. [^3]: Francis Barber (c.1742 – 1801) was the servant of Samuel Johnson. He was born into slavery in Jamaica, and brought to England by Colonel Richard Bathurst. Johnson made him his heir.

  The application came from Dr Johnson's House. 17 Gough Square is a grade I listed building, and listed building consent will be required. The applicants have already had a site visit and discussion with the City of London planning team and Historic England to detail the design and placement of the plaque to ensure it has equal prominence to the plaque that already exists at the house for Dr Johnson. The CAI noted the importance of diversifying the current range of blue plaques in the Square Mile and highlighting broader stories (e.g. Women, BAME, LGBTQ+) and agreed that this should be prioritised in the next iteration of the blue plaque programme. The Francis Barber Plaque will be the first City of London blue plaque to commemorate a BAME individual.

• A blue plaque at 20 St Swithin's Lane, to commemorate the opening of George Sandeman & Co's first London office in 1790. George Sandeman & Co was one of the earliest firms to professionalise the wine import trade in Britain. 20 St Swithin's Lane is a grade II listed building and listed building consent will be required. The application came from Liberty Wines.

The rejected proposal was:

• A blue plaque in the area around Mitre street, St James's Passage and Dukes Place (thought to be the location of Samuel Hartlib's House) to commemorate the Czech philosopher and educator John Amos Comenius[^4]. [^4]: John Amos Comenius (1592 – 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian.

  The application came from Czech School. The London Archives have not been able to verify a specific City of London address for the time Comenius was in London, nor how long he was in the City of London for. The CAI recommended that this proposal is rejected due to the lack of clear evidence to confirm the location or length of time that Comenius spent in the City of London.

Revenue Outturn Forecast

The committee received a report on the Quarter 2 projected outturn for 2025/26. The report noted that the total local risk is projected to overspend by £143,000, attributed to unidentified savings coupled with lower than targeted income levels. The total central risk budget is projected to overspend by £110,000, related to an increase in rents and rates upon The London Archives.

As of September 2025, there was projected to be a £160,000 overspend on The Monument's local risk budget for 2025/26, attributable to the unidentified savings of £195,000. This represents an improvement of £35,000 compared with the position reported to June 2025, which is attributable to an increase in the level of income projected for The Monument for 2025/26 as a result of increased visitor numbers.

The London Archives has a Central Risk pressure of £110,000 due to rising rents and rates costs. It is very unlikely that this can be offset within local risk budgets come year-end as they are unlikely to have significant underspend. The majority of the local budget is allocated to staffing, and ongoing inflationary increases to materials and digital systems costs already create pressure.

Barbican Sculpture Court Installation

The committee considered a report regarding a City Arts Initiative (CAI) recommendation for a sculpture to be installed in the Barbican Sculpture Court. The CAI recommended that the following is approved via delegated authority between the Town Clerk and Chair & Deputy Chair of Culture, Heritage & Libraries Committee: Barbican Sculpture Court Installation – Delcy Morelos.

The CAI received an application from the Barbican Centre Visual Arts Team to install a sculpture at the Barbican Sculpture Court made from soil and clay by Colombian artist Delcy Morelos². The proposal is for the sculpture to be in situ at the sculpture court from 30 April-31 July 2026. Visitors will be invited to circulate the artwork's ovular tunnel and become a part of its ecosystem. This is the third project commissioned as a part of the Barbican Centre's public art programme which looks to animate the building for all visitors and initiate new conversations about the value of art in the public realm.

The proposal will be funded in part by the Barbican Art Gallery Annual budget and through private funding by the Bukhman Foundation and other individual donors. The proposal will be reviewed by CoL Planning, Corporate Health and Safety and the District Surveyor. A planning and listed building application has been submitted. The Barbican have confirmed that they will be working closely with their fire safety team and structural engineers to ensure the sculpture meets required standards.

The Barbican Visual Arts Team have been in consultation with the Residents Association as well as other key stakeholders across the Barbican Centre and City of London (e.g. the renewal team). The Barbican Centre Team have confirmed that they will be responsible for maintenance of the sculpture and will be closely monitoring the installation once it is in place. This has been accounted for in the budget and a certain degree of wear and tear is expected.

The CAI panel are supportive of the project and artistic concept and have provided feedback to the applicant around enhancing community engagement and wayfinding of the sculpture court. The CAI access advisor will also further review the plans to ensure there are adequate turning circles within the structure and made further recommendations around quiet times and prior information notices, so audiences know what to expect when entering the sculpture.