New Commemorative Plaque Nominations

Newcastle City Council welcomes nominations for new commemorative plaques from anyone. The process by which nominations are submitted, assessed, and selected is outlined in the guidance notes below.

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> The Selection Process

> Threshold Criteria

> Submission

The Selection Process

Commemorative plaque nominations should be made by submitting a completed application form via email to Newcastle City Council’s Urban Design and Conservation Team. Applications will be subject to an initial sift based on the threshold criteria outlined below. Nominations that meet the criteria will then be presented to the Newcastle City Council’s Historic Environment Advisory Panel (HEAP) for consideration.

All proposals received before the end of September that meet the threshold criteria will be presented to the HEAP at an annual meeting in October. The HEAP, which is comprised of Council members and local heritage sector professionals, will then make a recommendation as to which nominations should be approved. The number of approvals per year will be dependent on the relative merit of the nominations received and available funding. If necessary, submissions will be ranked based on their relative merit in order to produce a final list of approvals. Usually, the number of approved plaques will be limited to a maximum of four per year. 

When approved, plaques will be designed by the Conservation Team and, following consultation with the nominator and any other stakeholders, commissioned with a view to installation in the year following approval.

Priority will normally be given to commemorating people and important historical events. Commemorations to buildings or structures will only be considered as an exception.
Where possible, linking nominations with significant anniversaries, celebrations or events is encouraged.

Approved plaques will be designed, ordered and installed by Newcastle City Council following consultation with the nominators and other relevant stakeholders, such as relatives of the person subject to commemoration and property owners.

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Threshold Criteria

For all nominations
Proposals to commemorate people, events, buildings or places should in all cases:
•    have made a significant contribution to the legacy of Newcastle, the UK or beyond;
•    use locations that allow plaques to be publicly visible; and
•    avoid duplicating any existing memorialisation in the city.

For nominations of people
Any person nominated as the subject of a commemorative plaque should:
•    have made some important positive contribution to human progress, welfare or happiness in Newcastle, the UK or beyond;
•    have a strong link with Newcastle, such as they were born, lived, worked, affected change or made their discovery or accomplishment in Newcastle;
•    usually have an original (not ‘site-of’) site with strong links to them where a plaque could be installed; and
•    have died at least twenty years ago.

For nominations of significant historical events
Any significant historical event nominated as the subject of a commemorative plaque should:
•    usually have an original (not ‘site-of’) site with strong links to the event where a plaque could be installed; and
•    have taken place at least twenty years ago.

For nominations of buildings or structures
Any building or structure nominated as the subject of a commemorative plaque should:
•    hold historic significance through its architectural form, innovative construction, engineering significance, historical and cultural associations or any other unique characteristics; and
•    have been erected at least twenty years ago.
 

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Submission

Please submit your completed application form (click here to download the Application Form), together with any supporting information, to Newcastle City Council’s Urban Design and Conservation Team via urbandesignandconservation@newcastle.gov.uk. Submissions should include robust evidence (ideally primary source information) that verifies the biographical or historical details of a nomination.

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