Port Vale John Rudge statue gets go-ahead

John Rudge managed Port Vale between 1983 and 1999

Permission has been granted for a statue of former long-serving Port Vale manager John Rudge to be erected outside the football club.

Money has been raised for more than two years for a bronze cast statue of Mr Rudge, who managed the club between 1983 and 1999.

It will be more than five metres high, and will stand outside a pedestrian access to the ground on Hamil Road, Burslem.

Port Vale Supporters Club has thanked those who have contributed towards the £100,000 target, with the aim to have the statue ready for Mr Rudge's 80th birthday on 21 October.

In conditionally approving the tribute to the club "legend", Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the statue and wider scheme was well designed.

It will sit on a Staffordshire blue brick base/plinth, and will be set within a new semi-circular area of feature paving, with blue brick walls adjacent to it, states the report.

The total height of the statue including its base will be 5.3m.

It was noted the location was near to a former mine entry, so the applicant "may wish to consider the implications posed by the coal mining legacy of the site."

Mark Porter, chair of Port Vale Supporters Club said the group were "over the moon" to secure planning permission, describing the project as a "massive effort" by all involved.

He said they were "nearly there" with the fundraising, with a £5,000 miniature version of the statue set to be raffled off on 28 September, ahead of the planned unveiling of the full-size version in October.