Yorkshire council set to sell valuable art

Conservatives on Labour-run Kirklees Council called for a re-evaluation of council assets and a fresh look at what items can and cannot be sold - and Labour have agreed with the idea.

A Tory group spokesman said the council owned over £30m in art and other assets “some of which is so valuable that it cannot be insured for public display.”

Conservative deputy leader Councillor David Hall said there was “no point” owning artwork which could not go on display.

He called for the sale of unwanted assets in order to plough money back into services.

He said: “It is bizarre that the Council owns artwork that it cannot insure to display – what is the point in owning pictures that our residents can never see? We own paintings by Lowry, Auerbach, Martin and Bacon, and a sculpture by Moore but no one gets to see them because they sit in our cellars. The public have no idea that we own them or what they are.

“Disposal of just a small percentage of the Council’s collection would bring in much needed funds which can be ploughed back into services for the public. The Conservative budget proposals will incorporate the sale of just two per cent of these assets which is equivalent to around £600,000, but we will also call for a comprehensive re-evaluation of Council assets and what can sensibly be retained and what can be sold.”

The Conservatives have yet to say which artworks they would sell, other than to give a percentage figure.

Liberal Democrat group leader Kath Pinnock said the sale of art would not be a long-term fix for the council’s financial problems.

“While we’re not entirely opposed to it, we would compare it to having a car-boot sale to fix a hole in your household finances.

It will work for a short time, but it doesn’t address the underlying financial problems. What we are Liberal Democrats want to do is keep hold of as much of the public services and assets as possible so that when the council comes out the other side of the recession and the financial crisis, we’re in a position to build on what is left.

“The Conservative approach is a temporary fix which will appeal to some people until they realise it doesn’t really solve the problems the council faces.”

Green councillor Andrew Cooper said: “This is not a solution to the £129 million worth of cuts that are being handed down from the Conservative-led government. These paintings can only be sold once, the cuts affecting local services will continue from one year to the next. This is not a solution to Kirklees’ huge financial problems imposed on the Council by the coalition government.”

Yesterday the council’s leader Mehboob Khan, who is due to step down as leader, said a sale of some art - that which cannot be insured for public display - was being considered but only when the market picked up.

He said the money raised would be spent on capital projects, not to pay for services, which would be illegal.

The plan was to sell “well beyond” the two per cent proposed by the Tories, he added.

“When the arts market comes out of recession and money is needed to fund buildings, we will consider disposing as much as possible of the artwork that is not on display.”

A full assessment of the assets will be carried out in the summer, he said.