Colston protester's statue could make return to plinth

The sculpture appeared early one morning where the statue of Edward Colston had been

A planning inspector will decide whether a Black Lives Matter sculpture can sit on the plinth where the statue of Edward Colston used to be.

The life-sized depiction of campaigner Jen Reid appeared briefly on the plinth after protesters tore down the statue to the 17th century slave trader.

Ms Reid climbed onto the plinth in Bristol with her fist raised in the air after Colston's statue was toppled.

Her statue was removed as the council had not approved its installation.

Now it has emerged that a planning services company "Interpolitan Ltd" sought planning permission to install the statue of Ms Reid for a two-year period.

The statue of Edward Colston has been permanently removed from the plinth

The firm has lodged an appeal because the council failed to make a decision on its planning request, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Bristol City Council said the application had been made retrospectively "late" last summer .

The mayor said Ms Reid's statue had to be removed as the decision to install it had not been part of a democratic process involving people in the city.

A government inspector will now consider whether Ms Reid's statue should be restored, although a formal hearing date has yet to be set.

The council has previously said the decision about what goes on the plinth, if anything, should be made by the people of Bristol.

When Ms Reid's statue was removed, its creator Marc Quinn said: "The toppling of Edward Colston's statue in Bristol was a moment of global reverberation in the fight for racial justice, and A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 is an artwork created with Jen Reid, a local Bristol resident, to continue the public dialogue sparked by that.

"We respect the fact that the council has chosen to remove the sculpture, which was always meant to be temporary."