Five options on table at key meeting tomorrow
DERBYSHIRE Dales District Councillors will be asked to decide on a set series of options when they discuss the future of the Green Man’s Black’s Head sculpture tomorrow.
The meeting, which will be broadcast live on Youtube and held over Zoom, will see councillors discuss and debate a review into the authority’s assets, including the head, and then decide on what steps to take next.
The council’s director of regulatory services Tim Braund will recommend the members consider a range of options, which he has boiled down into five distinct choices.
The district councillors can choose to do one of the following:
Option A – the district council accepts the request from Ashbourne Town Council and transfers the freehold interest of the Black’s Head and gallows sign to the town council, for them to determine its future.
Option B – the district council undertakes a public consultation on the future of the Black’s Head and gallows sign.
Option C – the Black’s Head be retained in the ownership of the district council, be subject to appropriate conservation and stored in the County Archives.
Option D – the Black’s Head be retained in the ownership of the District Council, be subject to appropriate conservation and forwarded to Ashbourne Town Council for storage.
Option E – any alternative option that the Council considers appropriate.
In a report submitted to councillors ahead of the 6pm meeting, Mr Braund said: “It is recognised that the issues discussed in this report are largely political in nature and therefore the officer recommendations have been left open, so that future action may be seen to be determined by debate in council.
“However, actions to be taken following council’s considerations will need to be taken by officers and therefore a recommendation has been made that actions determined by this meeting are delegated to the director of regulatory services and the director of corporate and customer services, recognising that implementing those actions is likely to involve joint working by the estates and facilities team and the legal service team.”