This is Leicestershire --Leicestershire County Council has pledged £250,000 towards creating a Cathedral Quarter around the final resting place of Richard III.
The contribution includes a new work of art which signifies the link between Bosworth Battlefield, the site of Richard III's death, and the cathedral – his proposed future resting place.
The £100,000 memorial will stand in Cathedral Gardens, at Leicester Cathedral, close to a relocated statue of Richard, which will be moved from nearby Castle Gardens.
A brief has been drawn up for sculptors and artists to use when designing their proposals, which are expected to be in the same vein as the Stand Easy statues, at County Hall.
County council leader Nick Rushton said: "This is the county's cathedral as well as the city's, so it's exceedingly important we work closely with others to develop tourism.
"We'll be working with partners to commission a work of art as it is important for the county council to invest in the legacy of Richard III."
The monument will make up part of the newly announced Cathedral Quarter – a combination of a number of projects including the Richard III visitor centre, Connecting Leicester scheme and St Martin's Cathedral.
An official agreement to support the project was signed at the cathedral yesterday, creating the Cathedral Quarter Partnership Board.
Among the signatories was The Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester; city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby; Leicestershire County Council leader Nick Rushton and the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, the Very Rev David Monteith.
Bishop Tim, co-chairman of the board, said: "I am delighted this partnership board will bring together the major institutions who share responsibility for taking forward all the plans that flow from the discovery of King Richard lll."
The Cathedral Quarter will include a large area of the city, including Guildhall Lane, St Martin's East, Peacock Lane and Applegate.
The aim is create an historic district, based around the discovery of Richard III, which will attract visitors.
The board's first aim will be to prepare the area for the proposed reinterment of Richard's remains, which were scheduled to take place next May.
However, a judicial review of the exhumation licence – called for by the Plantagenet Society, which wants him buried in York – could disrupt the city's reinterment plans.
Sir Peter said: "The review has caused a slight delay but I'm confident we will be reinterring Richard III in Leicester. In 1485, it was the city from which he rode out to Bosworth to meet his death before being brought back to Leicester and buried on the orders of King Henry." Reported by This is 16 hours ago.