Bull statue gets go-ahead despite complaints

Identical statues have been placed outside many Miller & Carter restaurants

A statue of a bull will be erected outside a popular steak restaurant despite complaints over bull-fighting connotations, inappropriate materials and its distinction from a Hereford bull.

The 1.1m (3.6ft) high aluminium sculpture will stand outside Miller & Carter opposite the Odeon in Hereford.

The statue, the likes of which have been installed outside many branches of the restaurant across England, attracted 17 letters of objection.

One complainant said the use of Brazilian slate for the plinth it will stand on was "inappropriate when more local slate is available", while another said it would “jar with local custom, practice and civic pride”.

Planning officials said the complaints did not "warrant a refusal"

Another letter pointed out that Miller & Carter lists Herefords as among the cattle breeds it uses, while the statue “is more Spanish in form and presentation”.

Some also said it looked like it was engaged in a bullfight, which one commentator said “would bring shame on our city” due to the "barbaric" sport.

Planning officer Eleanor Barry “recognised some harm in terms of the design not taking into account the historical and heritage importance, and potentially being insensitive”.

But she said this “is not a material planning consideration” and such objections “do not warrant a refusal”.

Of “modest in scale and design”, it would “not result in a significant or harmful introduction in the locality”, she concluded.