Decision details

To approve the Leeds bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2023 for submission to the DCMS by the 27 October 2017.

Further to Minute No. 35, 17^th July 2017, the Director of City Development submitted a report which sought approval of the Leeds bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2023 for the purposes of submission to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) by the 27thOctober 2017. The bid document was appended to the submitted report.

As part of the introduction to the submitted report, the Board viewed a short film entitled, ‘I Am A Spark’, which had been produced to accompany and support the city’s bid.

In presenting the report, the Chair conveyed her appreciation, on behalf of the Board, for the supportive cross-party approach which had been taken throughout the preparation of the bid, and also to the pivotal role played by the Leeds 2023 Independent Steering Group, which had recently recommended the bid document to Executive Board for approval.

Members noted the wide ranging support and positive attention that the bid had received since its recent publication; noted the commitment that the bid was being submitted on behalf of and reflected the whole city; and highlighted the range of opportunities including the positive legacy and economic benefits that being European Capital of Culture could potentially bring.

In addition, the Board’s approval was sought for the Chief Officer (Culture and Sport) to make any minor amendments and clarifications to the bid document which were required, prior to the document’s formal submission to the DCMS.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That approval be given to the Council submitting the bid for European Capital of Culture, as presented at Appendix 1 to the submitted report, for submission to the DCMS by 27th October 2017;

(b)  That the Board’s thanks be expressed to the Independent Steering Group and all of the organisations and individuals in the city who have contributed over the last three years;

(c)  That for the reasons detailed within the ‘Legal Implications, Access to Information and Call In’ section of the submitted report, the resolutions made by the Board within this minute be exempted from the Call-in process;

(d)  That should Leeds be shortlisted to the second stage, the following be agreed:-

(i)  It be noted that a second and final application will need to be submitted during 2018, incorporating further developments and feedback from the judging panel;

(ii)  That the Chief Officer Culture and Sport be requested to support a recruitment process in order to appoint a Chair of Leeds Culture Trust;

(iii)That the Chief Officer Culture and Sport be requested to initiate a ‘Readiness Board’ within the Authority across the different Directorates in order to start to plan for supporting the delivery of the year.

(e)  That the Chief Officer (Culture and Sport) be provided with the necessary authority to make any minor amendments and clarifications to the bid document which were required, prior to the document’s formal submission to the DCMS.

(The Council’s Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rules state that a decision may be declared as being exempt from the Call In process if it is considered that any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s, or the public’s interests. In line with this, the resolutions contained within this minute were exempted from the Call In process for the reasons as stated within the submitted report, namely to enable the submission of the bid by the deadline of 27^th October 2017, with the implication of not exempting the decision from Call In being that the Council may not be able to submit the bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023 within the required timescales and would therefore forgo the opportunity that this would bring to the city. In addition, it was also noted that given the competitive nature of the bidding process, it was considered that the bid could not have been submitted to an earlier scheduled Board meeting and therefore enabling it to be made available for Call In, as this could have potentially prejudiced the Council’s interests, should the bid have been revealed to competitors at an earlier stage).

Briefings

Leader of the Council

Chief Executive

Chief Officer Financial Services

Leeds 2023 Steering Group