Mandela statue gets go-ahead

PERMISSION to build a Nelson Mandela statue in Glasgow has been renewed by the city council.

The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation is raising money to cover the cost of the sculpture.

A previous application had been approved in 2017 but expired after three years.

The charity wants to erect a bronze statue to the former President of South Africa outside 8 Nelson Mandela Place.

It is proposed to mark “his connection with Glasgow” – the first city in the world to award its freedom to Mandela in 1981.

He later visited the city in 1993 after his 1990 release from prison.

Brian Filling, the charity’s chairman, submitted the planning application.

He was the founding chair of the Scottish Committee of the AntiApartheid Movement and is the Honorary Consul for South Africa in Scotland.

“Nelson Mandela Place is the ideal site for the proposed location politically, historically and functionally,” the application states.

“The place has a long association with the struggle against apartheid and Nelson Mandela, while its prominent location could activate this underused part of the city.”

More than £70,000 has been collected by the charity, which plans to hold an open competition to select a sculptor. The plans revealed the charity aims to have the statue installed by early next year.

Patrons of the foundation include Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Sir Billy Connolly and the city’s Lord Provost Philip Braat.