Council on board: Let’s get this done
Council officials have agreed to talks aimed at giving the go-ahead to the statue of Sir Billy and Chic.
The move comes after Glasgow City Council claimed it had forgotten about a previous planning application for the bronze work which has lain in a storage shed for a decade. We told last week how initial plans to have the statue located outside Colin Beattie’s Oran Mor arts venue in the city’s West End were rejected a decade ago amid a planning wrangle. The council insisted there had never been a planning application, only informal guidance, before Mr Beattie provided the 2010 paperwork. Malcolm Cunning, Glasgow City Council Labour group leader, said: “It’s clear there’s considerable support to find some way of siting this statue in a public place. I have written to the head of planning seeking assurance that the matter will be actively pursued in a positive way.”
Colin Beattie said: “I’ve been inundated with messages of support since the articles in The Sunday Post.
We are now actively seeking to submit a new application and find a home for Billy and Chic. All of this could be done with no public money and, in these times, I think that is important.” Glasgow City Council said: “Any future application that may be submitted would be considered on its merits. “We will be writing to Mr Beattie to offer him the opportunity to begin discussions. We are very supportive of the idea of placing this piece of art on display.”