Bench makeover sparks village debate

People in a Staffordshire village are split over the repainting of a bench and post, carved from a fallen horse chestnut tree, with some praising the bold colours and others branding them "tacky".

Robert Dalton, the original creator of the work in Madeley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, feels that onlookers might mistake this work for his own.

The BBC has approached Madeley parish councillor David Whitmore who admitted to painting the post and bench, but he declined to comment further.

A spokesperson for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, which owns the bench, said: "We regard this as the personal project of some Madeley parish councillors, paid for by the parish council."

Dalton began his chainsaw art career in 2018 after a diagnosis with post-traumatic stress disorder following his time in the forces.

He was tasked with giving new life to a horse chestnut tree, which had fallen during a storm, in April last year after standing for 200 to 300 years.

He prides himself in leaving wood with a natural finish, using light oils to bring out the grains of the timber and create subtle difference in colour.

"I tend not to use bold colours - that's how I create things, so to see something like this done to it is certainly not what I would do.

"It feels like somebody's done it who doesn't have any artistic experience and if you were going to add colour to it, it might have been better to find a local artist who could've helped with that," he added.

Upon completion of a piece, the artist leaves behind a pewter disk with his logo on but is concerned that others may mistake the painting as part of his work.

"It's not really a true representation of my work - it's my work that somebody else has added to," he said.

Recalling the project, he said he often had people from the village stopping by to share their memories of the tree, which he described as "wonderful".

"I created something that most people seemed to be happy with and then for someone to unilaterally make a decision to change it without consulting the community feels a little bit short-sighted to me."

After the paint job was completed, residents in the village quickly took to social media with various opinions about what had been done.

Becky Bowler is a resident in the village who shared the opinions of most online, telling the BBC the work was "hideous and tacky".

"It's not naturalistic. Previously, the man who did the chainsaw sculptures in the first place, he'd put an oil on it so it would keep and weather naturally which was a nice tasteful choice."

"This stands out and it doesn't look like it belongs here."

However, Dave Whitefoot said: "I mean they [villagers] get that upset about it but why? I was walking the other day, a car stopped, a couple got out, took photographs, it was lovely."

"People can see it now where before a lot of people couldn't. But now the fish shows and everything, I can't see why people are getting upset."

The bench, which is dedicated to a late mayor of the borough, is owned by Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council which said it "inherited" the work when it was placed on council land.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "To all intents and purposes we regard this as the personal project of some Madeley parish councillors, paid for by the parish council."

The council understood that the work was completed by community members in what it believed was "good faith" and that it was still to be completed.

It went on to say that the debate "is very much a local matter", that the council is happy for the artist and community to conclude.

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