Torridge councillors warn public art projects may not be funded in future

Councillors in Torridge have been urged to make the most of a public art project in Westward Ho! as there may not be funds available in the future for similar projects.

Cash of nearly £100,000 has been approved for the artwork by Torridge District Council’s community and resources committee.

The money comes from Wainhomes as part of its community contribution (Section 106 agreement) for developing land at Buckleigh Road in Westward Ho!. This agreement was made with the council in 2014 when the company gained planning permission.

A steering group of 29 people from the community has been formed to provide general oversight, and The Burton Art Gallery at Bideford will receive £17,000 to manage the project. A call-out to artists will follow, and a subsequent shortlist of three artists will be invited to work up proposals. The council will decide on the final artwork for Buckleigh Road.

Cllr Chris Leather (Ind, Northam) said he had seen some “awful” public art paid for with developers’ contributions in the past.

He told councillors that things like this added huge costs to developers and just ended up being paid for by the people who bought the houses.

Developers also now had to provide biodiversity gains on sites, which also bumped the cost up.

“Some of these things added on don’t half increase the cost of providing housing,” he said.

Cllr Bob Hicks (Ind, Monkleigh and Putford) agreed and said that, with a falling house market in London, this would spread across the country and the margin on new house building would disappear.

“Glorious things like public art projects added on will no longer be affordable to developers, so you better make the best of it as it may be the last chance you get,” he told councillors.

Cllr Rosemary Lock (Con, Two Rivers and Three Moors) said that, in the village of Dolton which she represents, a developer with planning permission to build homes had applied to alter their Section 106 agreement because they could no longer afford to give £70,000 to the community or provide the affordable housing element, and were only considering a contribution towards education.

A report to the community and resources committee said that the hours of the council’s cultural development officer would be reduced from April 2026 as a result of the removal of the Shared Prosperity Funding, which comes from government, and therefore they could not carry out the management role for the project, so the council needed to find a partner.

Cllr Teresa Tinsley (Lib Dem, Bideford North) said she was glad The Burton had been appointed, as it had a “fantastic track record, skills, expertise and the love of the community”.

Councillors asked that schools be involved in the artwork project and that the history of the area be a focus for any proposals.