Research by campaign group Republic has revealed that nearly two thirds of councils in England have no firm plans to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. More than 250 local authorities responded to a freedom of information request asking what plans were in place to mark the jubilee, and how much they were estimated to cost – 45 per cent said they would not be marking the jubilee at all, while a further 20 per cent said they had not made any firm plans. Only 35 per cent said that had confirmed plans in place, many of which were small gestures such as planting trees, dedicating fields or lighting a jubilee beacon in June.
However, a small number of councils have bucked the trend and committed vast sums to major jubilee projects. These include:
- The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead building a jubilee fountain and installing a monument at an estimated cost of £157,000.
- Bath & North East Somerset Council spending £80,000 on a jubilee picnic.
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council spending an estimated £62,000 on a range of jubilee events including a jubilee-themed Tunbridge Wells in Bloom competition.
- The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames holding an exhibition on Richmond’s royal connections at a cost of £49,600.
- The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea setting aside £27,000 for various jubilee activities, including sending a framed photograph of the Queen to every school in the borough.