Tories accused of petty politics on cost of statue
AFORMER Plymouth City Council Conservative group leader has accused the council’s current Tory opposition of using the statue Look II for “short-term political gain”.
Ian Bowyer, who quit the group last year over differences with the new leadership, said the recent Conservative criticism of spending on the artwork was “petty and short-sighted”. He said it risked damaging the city and turning it into a ‘cultural desert’.
Cllr Bowyer’s intervention in the public debate about the 12ft castiron statue on the waterfront at West Hoe Pier followed Conservative councillors describing it as a waste of money and in the wrong place at a budget meeting of the Labour-run council. He said inward investment in culture and leisure was vital for the economy and the attack on spending on the statue by Sir Antony Gormley, famous for public art including the Angel of the North at Gateshead, risked putting off investors.
The Look II statue, weighing almost three tonnes, is made up of 22 iron blocks cast in a single piece and is designed to weather naturally, giving it a rust-coloured finish. It was unveiled by the artist in September last year to mark the Mayflower 400 celebrations and the opening of The Box, the redeveloped museum and heritage centre on North Hill.
The total of £764,038 spending on a ‘Mayflower 400 Monument’ this year in the council’s five-year capital programme was included in a document discussed at the council meeting.
The city council’s Labour leadership has pointed out the total sum for the project includes installation costs and renovation of the pier, and has come from the capital budget, funded by grants and loans, which is for longer-term investments and not related to day-to-day spending on services funded by council tax.
Labour has pointed out that the Mayflower 400 programme had previously received cross-party support following approval by the Conservative administration in 2017 of a £5 million council investment, including £500,000 for a monument.
Cllr Bowyer, who represents Eggbuckland and now sits as an Independent, attacked his former group’s “petty and short-sighted” approach to the cost and relevancy of the artwork, nicknamed ‘Rusty Reg’, and said he was surprised at the stand taken by his former colleagues.
Cllr Bowyer said in a statement issued last Thursday: “It was only in 2017, under my administration, that the Conservative Cabinet approved and supported the overall finances for the then Mayflower 2020 events, which included £500k for a Mayflower monument. It now seems they take the opposite view!”
He added: “I believe my former colleagues have taken the wrong approach here.
“Instead of seeking short-term political gain, they should be looking at the bigger strategic picture.
“Inward investment in Plymouth, particularly in culture and leisure, is vital for our local economy in terms of jobs and opportunities.
“Only recently we’ve seen the huge international interest in The Box, which attracted major external investment and now offers the chance to view world-class exhibits,” he continued.
“Such investment has driven the council’s capital spending programme for a number of years, with significant contributions from Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund as examples,” he concluded.
‘Instead of seeking short-term political gain, they should be looking at the bigger picture’