Milton Keynes 'rubble' sculpture given the go-ahead

Milton Keynes Council has approved plans for The Fossil sculpture

A sculpture dubbed a "piece of rubble" by an objector is to be built on parkland.

The Fossil, a full-size cast of a quarter of a domestic house, has been commissioned by Milton Keynes Council.

Designers said the sculpture imagines a "future landscape where civilisation excavates the ground to reveal a still life of early 21st life".

It was given the go-ahead by the council's planning department.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, The Fossil's designers said it would provide a platform "similar to a traditional bandstand" for a community-led public programme.

But resident Gomez Close said on the council website: "This so-called piece of art work is awful... whoever decided on it clearly has no taste.

"I'm glad I don't live in sight of where it's proposed or I'd be moving, as I wouldn't want to look out of a piece of rubble named art."

Cultural strategy

Shenley Church End Parish Council raised concerns about the "intellectual merit of the design" and said it could become a central point for anti-social behaviour in the evenings.

But Milton Keynes planning officers, in their decision documents, said they considered the open space "surplus to requirements" and the artwork could help "enhance" the area.

It is part of the council's creative and cultural strategy, they added.

In an attempt to tackle possible anti-social behaviour the council, MK Gallery, and Something and Son said they were planning a year's worth of events.

MK Council said the sculpture would be paid for by money given to the council by developers for arts purposes.