Statue of Boer war hero to stay put
COUNCILLORS have unanimously voted to withdraw proposals that could have seen a statue of General Redvers Buller moved from outside Exeter College.
The statue of of the Boer War hero and his horse Biffen stands on the corner of New North Road and Hele Road outside the entrance to Exeter College, erected back in 1905.
Back in January, Exeter City Council’s executive had agreed that without prejudice to a final decision on the matter, an application should be made for listed building consent for the relocation of the statue to an alternative location.
But Tuesday night’s meeting saw them unanimously vote to overturn that decision and recommend to full council that no application for listed building consent for relocation should be made and the formal consultation over the future of the statue now not take place.
It follows recent comments by Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who make it clear such applications are unlikely to be successful.
Cllr Phil Bialyk, leader of the council, said: “In light of the comments by the Secretary of State my Executive will be asked to amend the recommendations, and we will not be submitting a planning application to relocate the Buller statue. There is no proposal to remove the Buller statue. I hope that is clear and we are not talking about that at all.”
The executive though reaffirmed their support for the other recommendations that they had made back in January over the statue, in that the portfolio holder for culture and communities should establish a working group to develop an Anti-Racism Strategy for the Council.
An arts-based engagement project with residents is also set to be established, through a public art working group in conjunction with the University of Exeter and Exeter Culture, to consider the role of public art and create a new public art strategy in the city.
Temporary information boards are still set to be erected near to the statue, while consideration is set to be given to whether the controversial statement “He saved Natal” on the plinth should be removed.