Plymouth's former Tory leader accuses current opposition of using Look II statue for 'short-term political gain'
Ian Bowyer spoke up during a public debate about the 12 foot cast-iron monument, which recently faced backlash from Conservative Councillors
The former Plymouth City Council Conservative leader has accused the 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 cast-iron 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 2020 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 £5million 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.
"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! 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.
"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."
Cllr Ian Bowyer
The former Conservative leader, one of eight Tories to leave the group last year amid criticism of the new leadership, said it was ‘dangerous’ to focus solely on the cost of the Gormley statue.
His statement added:
"It sends out completely the wrong message to potential investors, who have no wish to find themselves embroiled in local political spats.
"As a result they could well bypass Plymouth, and look elsewhere. This would be detrimental to all Plymothians.
"Given the Government’s Budget announcement of a further £300m to support culture and leisure it makes the current parochial argument look rather petty and short-sighted.
"Culture is important in all our lives and to our mental health – arguably even more so as we battle the global pandemic.
"Everyone wants to see a vibrant, prosperous Plymouth, and recent news from the Chancellor confirming our status as a freeport is brilliant.
"As the largest city on the south coast we must recognise that we can’t live in a cultural desert – we have to provide the whole range of facilities which, in turn, will give the city a real buzz going forwards."
Supporters say the sculpture by a world-renowned artist has stimulated debate about public art, brought global attention to the city and will provide an economic boost by attracting visitors. Discussions on social media have seen many comments welcoming the addition to the city’s waterfront, as well as criticism.
The city council has refused to say how much it paid for the artwork as it is covered by a confidentiality agreement with the sculptor. But the council put a figure of £425,000 on the installation costs, including strengthening and repairs to the listed West Hoe Pier where the statue stands.
The council has confirmed that the £764,038 item listed in a budget document was for Look II and “all the associated works”. Taking away the installation sum, that indicates the cost of the artwork alone was around £339,000.
The council has said the amount of the fee to the artist was being withheld in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act because disclosure “would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the council and The Box.”
It has said disclosing the amount would breach a confidentiality agreement with Sir Antony, famous for his work including the 200-tonne Angel of the North at Gateshead, which was finished in 1998 at a cost of £800,000.
The artist says Look II links the ancient stones of the Stonehenge era to modern skyscrapers. He wants it to invoke the yearning to travel to a new world, like the passengers on the Mayflower which left Plymouth for North America 400 years ago.
The pier it stands on is where Sir Francis Chichester landed in 1967 as he became the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route in his yacht Gypsy Moth.
Funding for the statue is part of a total of almost £10million capital spending on the Mayflower programme, funded by a £5million contribution from the council approved in 2017 and £4.5million from other organisations.
The report to the Conservative Cabinet approved in February 2017 recommended a £5million capital contribution from the council to the Mayflower 400 programme spread over several years, including £500,000 towards a ‘world class’ monument or artwork. The report said the monument project was expected to attract outside grants which could take the total available to £1.2million.
The Conservatives now say that no specific project was identified in 2017, and it was only after Labour took control of the council in 2018 that Look II was chosen and the decision was taken to install it on West Hoe Pier.
Capital spending, funded by loans and grants, is for longer-term investment such as roads and buildings, and is separate from the council’s day to day spending on services such as bin collections and social care, which is partly funded by income from council tax.
The total £9.5million funding for the Mayflower 400 capital projects has come from the city council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, the Pilgrim Trust, Great Western Railways and the Mayflower Descendants.
The council’s five-year capital budget listed capital spending on Mayflower 400 in the current financial year of just under £4.9million, including the statue and £975,000 for signs on the A38.
A programme of events planned in 2020 to mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from Plymouth, carrying the founders of one of the first settlements in North America, has been moved to 2021 due to the pandemic.
A third of the seats on the city council are due to be contested at elections in May.