Developers confident they can save Kett's Oak

The sculpture on the side of Kett House honours the family of Robert Kett, who led a rebellion in 1549, and depicts the oak tree where the plotters met

A sculpture of an oak tree on the side of a 1960s office block could be saved, even if the building is knocked down.

Developers said they were "confident" they could save the sculpture on Kett House, on Station Road in Cambridge, if the site was demolished to make way for new offices.

At a Cambridge City Council meeting on Wednesday, they added that the Kett Oak sculpture could be reused in their proposed development.

The sandstone artwork, by Wilhelm Josef Soukop, depicts the oak tree where the famous East Anglian rebel, Robert Kett, would meet his followers.

The plans aim to replace the current office block, which was named after Robert Kett, with a new one

At a previous meeting in May, the developers had no plans for the sculpture.

It had been one of the main questions raised by the public about the development, said Peter Fisher, an architect working on the project.

He said: "The Kett Oak sculpture was quite a prominent observation during the various bits of consultation, including the public exhibition.

"Since then, we have had a demolition audit undertaken and we are now confident that it can be removed from the building, stored, and reinstated in some way."

Mr Fisher said the architects were working with an art consultant on "how to work with a sculpture of this nature".

He explained the primary proposal was to reinstate it in a similar position on the ground floor to the first floor of the new building.

After the meeting in May, the proposed height of the building was also reduced by one storey, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillors, including Martin Smith and Richard Robertson, said they wanted to see the sculpture reinstated, but raised concerns about the height of the building.

Robertson suggested it was in "conflict" with the 2004 framework for the Station Road development.

He said it had set out that the heights of buildings leading away from the station should get "gradually lower".

Mark Derbyshire, part of the development team, said the 2004 document referred to by Robertson had been "overtaken" by subsequent planning documents, such as the city council's local plan.

The developers will hold a second public consultation before a formal planning application for the project is submitted to the city council.