£47,000 Brampton sculpture unveiled

Rotherham Borough Council has splashed out £47,000 on a piece of art aimed at regenerating the former pit village of Brampton. What do you think of it?

WOULD you spend £47,000 on this?

Art-loving Rotherham Borough Council has done just that as part of a project aimed at regenerating a former pit village.

The sculpture, which is known as Landmark Artwork Project and features images of cartwheeling children, will be officially unveiled by Wentworth MP John Healey today.

When council officers unveiled plans for the project last year, they said that it would cost £25,000 in artists’ fees and fabrication costs, plus £25,000 of other expenses, including £800 for “celebration and documentation” but a council spokeswoman said this week that the final cost was actually £47,000.

Designer Chrysalis Arts was commissioned by the council “to create a meaningful representation of the Brampton community” less than a year after the local authority came under fire for splashing out £62,000 on installing 13 metal “ears of corn” at Bradgate’s Fenton Road roundabout.

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Today’s unveiling of the finished sculpture will be attended by local interest groups and residents who have helped in the design.

The artwork lies flat along a brick wall and then twists into a three-dimensional sculpture as it extends beyond the wall, depicting an acrobatic figure on the banking.

It has been designed to represent the people of Brampton, which is described by the council as “a vibrant and forward thinking community with a proud heritage.”

Volunteers from Wathwood Hospital and the council’s landscape team worked together on planting and landscaping around the artwork.

Jennifer Booth, the council’s public arts officer, said: “The amount of effort and hard work that has been put into this project has been tremendous.

“I have no doubt that it is set to leave a legacy for future generations to see.

“The artwork has really reached the heart of the community and has created something the whole of Brampton and Rotherham can enjoy.”

The sculpture has been funded by the Government’s Housing Market Renewal Programme.