This is a City Council press release

The early conceptual artwork design that was released last month, through a commission to celebrate the role of the ‘Cambridge Rules’ in the formation of the Football Association (FA) Rules has recently undergone a review prior to public consultation.

This review has highlighted issues of a commercial nature, some of which could be overcome, however these events have put into question the underlying commercial references that the artwork could deem to signify.

Further work has also more clearly established the likely total commissioning costs for this particular concept. The result of which has raised the need for a significant increase in budget to make it deliverable.

This review was undertaken in conjunction with Councillor Andrea Reiner, new Executive Councillor for Public Places, who has taken over responsibility for overseeing the delivery of this project.

Taking into account the above issues and input from the project board, the Executive Councillor has decided that this concept cannot be pursued any further and a process to seek alternative concepts will now take place over the next few months. A public consultation of shortlisted concepts will then follow, to inform the final decision.

Councillor Andrea Reiner said:

“This is a very important project for Cambridge and I want to see the best possible outcome, not only for fans of the beautiful game, but for the whole community which enjoys Parker’s Piece. This has been a difficult decision, which has not been taken lightly. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the artist Gordon Young for all of his hard work and enthusiasm in getting us to this point.”