PUBLIC art in Cheltenham will be put under the microscope.

Members of the borough council's social and community scrutiny committee have voted to set up a review group to provide "joined-up thinking" about the town's sculptures and statues.

Two borough councillors, Diggory Seacome (C, Lansdown) and Rowena Hay (LD, Oakley), will be joined by a county councillor, an art expert and a resident to scrutinise the methods of choosing and funding public art.

Mr Seacome said: "What I would like to see is a bit more clear thinking and focus on making sensible decisions.

"There is a certain lack of focus on how public art should be chosen and hopefully the review group can help."

There are 66 pieces of public art in Cheltenham, ranging from statues and fountains to clocks and war memorials.

The art is ostensibly chosen by the town's public art panel, which was set up in 1992 to provide guidance on what is deemed suitable for Cheltenham.

Most are funded either by developers, forced to stump up the cash as part of a planning permission deal, or by donations from community groups.

But with the borough council facing funding cuts of up to 40 per cent – or £2.4 million a year – when the Government unveils its comprehensive spending review in October, some councillors have called for the money to be spent on other services.

Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for culture, chairs the panel, said: "People may look at public art and think it is something they can get rid of, but I think that is a brave step.

"It is one of those things, if it is done properly, that can lift an area and how people perceive it, so I would be loathe to see an end to public art.

"I welcome the review group.

"The art panel does a good job, but it tends to look at it on a case-by-case basis."

In April, a group of volunteers finished cataloguing Cheltenham's public art and created three trails for visitors to follow around the town.

Chris Lammiman, who led the research, said residents should take more pride in the art.

"I have just got back from a holiday in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and there is so much public art out there I couldn't help feeling we are missing an opportunity.

"Cheltenham is a town with so much culture and public art can add a lot to that."