Ashbourne has been “stuffed” by the district council over its decision not to put the controversial Blacks Head carving back on the Green Man gallows sign, a town councillor has said.
Town Councillor Denise Brown has renewed calls for a local public consultation into what should happen to the sculpture, which was removed in June amid a storm of controversy, and has even suggested a replica should go up in its place.
During a lengthy debate at a recent virtual meeting of the full town council, members discussed how to respond to Derbyshire Dales District Council’s ongoing review review of all its assets, of which St John Street’s Black’s Head became a main focal point.
The councillors discussed the district council’s unanimous decision not to allow the head to go back up on the sign, which the authority owns, whether there were legal implications in removing it from a listed structure, and whether or not the heritage society should be involved.
The over-riding tone of the discussion centred around the town council’s insistence that a consultation should take place among people living in and around Ashbourne to decide on the head’s future, in the hope the district council’s stance could be overturned.
Opening the discussion, Councillor Brown said: “I think Derbyshire Dales District Council kind of stuffed Ashbourne on this one, by adding that it should never go back up on the gallows.
“All over the country now, people are waking up to the ‘woke’, and making a stand against it when it isn’t necessary.
“I think this should have gone out to public consultation, and I think that there are certain members of the public that will push for a public consultation as to what happens to that head. And quite rightly so.
“If we can’t get that decision overturned, personally I think we will need some replica of some description mounted back on that gallows.”
Last time Derbyshire Dales District Council discussed the head, back in December, the councillors quickly and unanimously agreed it should not go back up on its perch, following a public outcry that arose from a petition that branded it a “racist caricature”.
The district councillors resolved that Ashbourne Town Council should be consulted on the sign’s future, along with Ashbourne Heritage Society, with a view to the town council becoming its custodians. However, there was a caveat put in place that it should never go back up.
Since that virtual meeting, Derbyshire County Council has waded into the debate, with its leader Barry Lewis pointing out that removing the head on a permanent basis would need listed building consent from Historic England.
Another bump in the road could be a new law introduced by Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which encourages the policy that historic statues should be “retained and explained”, rather than be removed in response to controversy over any questionable origins.
Ashbourne’s Mayor Sean Clayton, chairing the town council meeting, told members he would like to know how this new policy might affect the future of the head, and any forthcoming application to have it removed. An application that could even end up being put before Mr Jenrick.
This became a sticking point for the town councillors. Members agreed that the investigation was needed into what laws existed, what consent would be required to permanently remove the head, and how these potential restrictions could influence its future.
Councillor Andy White said: “I think Derbyshire Dales have got themselves into a right mess here. Not necessarily all their fault, but they made a decision before the secretary of state decided that this new approach should be taken.
“Now, I think, we’re in a bit of a mess, because if we’re going to consult with people – and I think that’s the right thing to do – but where do we draw the line?”
Councillor White suggested the consultation would be difficult to carry out because it would not be clear on how wide they should cast the net, and which neighbouring parishes should and should not be involved.
He concluded: “We’ve got to go back to Derbyshire Dales District Council now and say, right, get your targets in order and sort yourselves out.
“Decide what is legal and how we want to approach it now, what we want to do.
“Because, at the end of the day, they own the thing, they own the head, they own the gallows sign.
“They’ve made a decision and then they’ve said they’ll consult us on it.
“The whole approach is the wrong way around, and they need to have another look at it and see where they’re going.
“But not until we know the legal position can we do anything.”
Derbyshire Dales District Council has told InYourArea that since the town council’s meeting because the sign is listed, it will not be afforded any protection under Mr Jenrick’s policy.
A spokesman said: “We can again confirm that, as agreed, the consultation exercise is underway before applying for listed building consent.
“This will mean that the application can accurately reflect this consultation and hopefully lead to a positive proposal as to what should happen to both the head figure and sign.
“We also note that Historic England has already categorically stated to the Ashbourne News Telegraph that Robert Jenrick’s new proposals are designed to offer protection to memorials and plaques which are not listed.
“As the Green Man sign is listed, it is not affected by Mr Jenrick’s new guidance.”
Town councillors eventually and unanimously agreed to ask Derbyshire Dales District Council for an update on its position, and for clarification on what the legal position might be, particularly following the new policies announced by Robert Jenrick, before they can respond fully.
Article originally appeared on InYourArea
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