Artist's family supports bid to save steel dinosaurs

Jude Keenan and Susie Glatt relived their childhoods clambering on to the dinosaurs their mother Genevieve created

An artist's daughters have supported a campaign to save her herd of steel dinosaurs.

Genevieve Glatt created sculptures at the heart of Middlesbrough's Teessaurus Park, which opened in 1979.

A campaign to save her dinosaurs began when Middlesbrough Council said they could be relocated to accommodate Gypsy or traveller pitches, which it said were needed to meet government targets.

A bid has been submitted to have the dinosaurs listed and Mrs Glatt's daughters said the dinosaurs were created to reflect their industrial setting and should remain "cherished" at the site.

Jude Keenan and Susie Glatt visited the park on Tuesday, en route to a meeting at Teesside Archives, where they handed over dinosaur blueprints and other artefacts from their mother's career.

They clambered on Mrs Glatt's trio of triceratops as they reminisced about childhood memories and the importance of the steel creatures to their family, and Middlesbrough more widely.

"Mum's very proud of them," Mrs Glatt said.

"She is in a home now, but if she has a down day, the staff use the dinosaurs to cheer her up."

Genevieve Glatt created the dinosaurs after winning an Arts Council competition as a student in Middlesbrough

"They've been here forever," Mrs Keenan said.

"They were almost forgotten but the interest in them now is heartwarming and incredible to see.

"They're part of people's backgrounds and lives, people came here as kids and now bring their own kids.

"It's bonkers, it's brilliant."

The sisters also met volunteers who care for the site and have helped lead the campaign to save Teessaurus Park.

Ms Glatt's daughters met a group of volunteers who devote their time to caring for the popular park

Thousands of people have signed a petition to keep the dinosaurs in their current home on the banks of the River Tees.

The campaign was boosted last week when the 20th Century Preservation Society submitted a bid to Historic England to have Mrs Glatt's dinosaurs listed.

Middlesbrough Council then said it would engage with the process and was considering the results of a public consultation into its draft local plan, which earmarked the land for 14 Gypsy or traveller pitches.

The proposals, which set out a policy for development in the town until 2041, said the collection of dinosaurs would remain publicly accessible, but not necessarily at the same site.

"I'm not happy about the idea of them being relocated," said Miss Glatt.

"When mum came here, she saw the industry across the river, the shipbuilding, the cranes, the Transporter Bridge and felt it needed monsters, to sit well with it all.

"Her immediate thought was dinosaurs - they were conceived because they married with the Transporter, and that backdrop."

Genevieve Glatt's original designs have been handed to Teesside Archives

The listing bid has been welcomed by Mrs Glatt's family.

"They deserve listing, they're unique," said Mrs Keenan.

"This park represents Middlesbrough's heritage, and it's such an unusual thing to come across walking along the river.

"It belongs to Middlesbrough, they should definitely cherish it."

Miss Glatt added: "We've always called it mum's park, but we've come to realise it's Middlesbrough's park, it's Teessaurus Park."