Horse artwork plan resubmitted after location move

A new planning application for the sculpture has been submitted

Plans for a sculpture to celebrate a town's links to the Gypsy and traveller community have been submitted again after being rejected.

In April, Westmorland and Furness Council refused a planning application for a stallion statue on the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, to celebrate the town's role in hosting the annual horse fair - a big event in the traveller calendar.

The community interest firm Drive 2 Survive, which is behind the statue, has amended its proposal, with the artwork now planned for Salt Tip Corner, opposite the entrance to Roman Road.

The firm said it hoped the sculpture, which would be 7ft (2m) tall on top of a concrete plinth, would be "visible and celebrated".

Previous plans for the sculpture were rejected by the council following backlash by locals over the "impact of the sculpture's symbolic presence on community cohesion, emotional comfort and the shared use of the site", according to the council.

A report prepared by council planning officers said those plans received 163 letters of support, 72 objections and 21 observation letters.

The new plans are currently in consultation.

'Celebrate Gypsy community'

According to an artist's statement submitted with the application, the team has chosen the new location because it is where the most expensive horses are bought and sold for cash during the fair.

It said the sculpture was intended to make the contribution of the Gypsy and traveller community to Appleby "visible, permanent and celebrated".

It said when the fair was not on, there was "little tangible evidence" of the event in the town.