Councillors clash over spending on murals in Haringey

Labour-led Haringey Council plans to spend over £120,000 on murals in every ward but a Lib Dem councillor questioned if it was the best use of the money, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Labour cabinet member Sarah Williams (left) and Lib Dem councillor Alessandra Rossetti (right)

Haringey Council has moved forward with controversial plans to spend more than £120,000 on a series of new murals.

The artworks are set to be commissioned after challenges made by Liberal Democrat councillor Alessandra Rossetti through a special ‘call-in’ meeting were rejected yesterday (Thursday 26th).

The artworks are to be delivered across all 21 wards in the borough as part of the local authority’s plan to help rejuvenate Haringey’s public spaces ahead of becoming ‘London Borough of Culture’ in 2027.

The programme, launched by Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan in 2017, involves a year-long schedule of arts and culture projects. Previous boroughs to be involved include Waltham Forest, Brent, Lewisham and Croydon.

The £123,500 set aside for the murals is part of a wider £1.7million pot of infrastructure investment planned by the council. It is in the second of three ‘rounds’ of neighbourhood community infrastructure levy (NCIL) spending to be carried out by the council.

NCIL funds come from a levy paid to the local authority by developers. Legislation allows up to 25% of NCIL funding to be spent on infrastructure or “anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area”.

The council says its spending plans have been guided by a public consultation that concluded in January this year. The consultation gathered just over 4,200 suggestions from 2,672 respondents, equating to roughly 1% of the borough’s population.

A report prepared by council officers said: “Together, the murals will create a high-quality cultural presence in every ward, reinforcing local pride while contributing to a coherent borough-wide creative narrative.

“Local artists will work closely with residents to shape the look and feel of their neighbourhoods, creating opportunities for skills development and meaningful participation.”

However, at Thursday’s meeting some councillors disagreed with the local authority’s argument the artworks can be defined as meeting the wishes expressed through the public consultation.

Cllr Rossetti, who represents Alexandra Park ward, acknowledged the positive impact that the artworks could have on the community – but argued the public consultation did not show a strong desire for them to be commissioned.

If the public “wanted murals” she said, “they would have said they wanted murals”.

Council officers acknowledged the local authority’s definition of ‘infrastructure’ was imperfect but argued it was arrived at through an honest and well-researched analysis of NCIL guidelines and the council’s own Local Plan policies.

Sarah Williams, a member of the Labour-led council’s cabinet, described the call-in meeting as “sad”.

Cllr Williams acknowledged there were many areas money needed to be spent on to improve public spaces in the borough, adding that “obviously there’s going to be huge disappointment” as some projects miss out.

Nevertheless, she rejected the idea that public art may not necessarily fit under ‘infrastructure improvements’, describing it as “splitting hairs and semantics”.

“Being the London Borough of Culture is a really important thing for Haringey and a really important thing for residents,” Cllr Williams said.

She added: “No-one is writing in stone what a mural is at this point and I don’t think you’ll find a dictionary definition. It could be whatever residents and artists design – and it’s going to be a legacy of the borough of culture.”

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a mural as “a large picture that has been painted on the wall of a room or building”.

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.