Southampton council puts off decision on selling art

Southampton City Council has delayed its decision to sell artworks from its collection 

to fund the development of a £28m museum.

John Hannides, cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage at the council, said that although the plan had been to make a decision last month, the council was still awaiting responses from the attorney general, Museums Association (MA), and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). 

“The legal advice that we have been given is that it would not be appropriate to take this to council without the decision from the attorney general,” he said. 

“The unanticipated problem is that we now have an undefined timetable, as we have been advised that the advice may not be definitive, and may refer us on to the Charities Commission.”

As the attorney general is unlikely to respond this year, Hannides said the decision to go ahead with any sale would not take place until at least July 2010. This would give the council time to explore other options, including a potential partnership with Hampshire County Council, and the possibility of finding the money, some £5m, through Southampton’s capital programme provision.

Hannides played down reports that the proposed sale had led insurer Hallett Independent to cease its sponsorship of Southampton City Art Gallery’s exhibitions. The sum of money involved would not result in a “seismic shift”, he added, and the council had since had offers from other organisations keen to support the gallery.

Caitlin Griffiths, the MA’s head of professional issues, said: “We will be watching the attorney general’s ruling with interest as this will have an impact on the council’s ability to take this forward. 

“Meanwhile, we are waiting for more evidence as to whether this constitutes 

a sale of last resort, and reviewing the information that the council sent us about whether the items fall outside Southampton’s definition of its core collection.”

An MLA spokeswoman said: “The MLA is in dialogue with Southampton City Council and is aware it is reviewing its plans. From our perspective, the procedure it has followed has a way to go.”