Rejected Gypsy heritage statue to tour Europe
Jake BowersA statue created to celebrate a town's Gypsy and traveller heritage will be touring Europe after plans for its installation were rejected.
Artist Jake Bowers made a 7ft (2.1m) metal stallion sculpture to mark the community's link to Appleby, where the annual horse fair is held.
Westmorland and Furness Council last year turned down an application for the statue to be installed by the river Eden, saying the sculpture would "visually compete" with surrounding listed buildings.
Bowers has decided to tour the work in Germany, Bulgaria and Wales displaying the council's comments, which he claimed did not "live up to its duties to celebrate diversity". The council has declined to address the claims.
Bowers said: "Planning authorities, when they make decisions as to what does not belong in an area, they're making deeply political decisions about who belongs."
He said he was shocked and upset by the decision to reject the sculpture, which was intended to celebrate the town's key role in one of the biggest events in the traveller calendar.
"I felt very insulted by it," he said.
Owen Humphreys/PA MediaThe sculpture was part of a series of 12 works across the UK at locations important to the traveller community and was described as a "gift" to Appleby by Bowers' community interest company Drive 2 Survive, which had fundraised to make it.
This was the only one to be turned down, Bowers said.
Hope of new location
The Lib-Dem authority declined to address Bowers' comments.
Its original planning decision said the proposed statue would "undermine the inclusive and neutral amenity value of a well-used public space".
"While the cultural intention of the proposal is fully acknowledged and respected, no compelling justification has been provided for locating the sculpture in this specific, highly sensitive position," it said.
It also said the sculpture would be best suited to a different area where it would not result "in such harm".
"The public benefit is not sufficient to outweigh the identified heritage impact," it added.
Days after the rejection, Bowers resubmitted the application for land at Salt Tip Corner, off Roman Road.
He said the council told him it owned this land, but when he put the plans forward the authority told him it belonged to a different organisation.
Bowers said he felt the council had "messed him around" and he withdrew the application.
He said: "To define an artistic act as being damaging to the heritage of the area is factually wrong - we are part of the heritage of the area."
He said he still had hopes for the sculpture to be placed in Appleby at some stage and hoped to find a private land owner willing to host it.
"By embracing diversity we become stronger and richer for it and the offer [to Appleby] remains," he said.
