Colston protesters' Jen Reid statue appeal dismissed

A planning application was submitted the day after the statue was erected and the council removed the statue on 16 July 2020

Placing a modern sculpture of a protester on the empty Edward Colston plinth would do more harm than good, a planning inspector has ruled.

The statue of Jen Reid briefly appeared on the empty plinth in Bristol in July but was removed by the city council.

An application was made to install the statue but the council did not register it or make a decision about it.

An appeal against the council's failure to deal with the application has been dismissed by a planning inspector.

Consulting firm Interpolitan Ltd applied to install the life-sized depiction of Ms Reid for a two-year period, a day after it appeared on the empty plinth.

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

Bristol City Council failed to register, publish or make a decision about the application so the firm lodged an appeal against the city planning authority.

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

Dismissing the appeal, planning inspector Jeremy Sargent said it would do more harm than good to place a modern sculpture on the historical plinth, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In his decision, he said installing the sculpture would harm the significance of both the College Green Conservation Area and the Grade II listed "monument".

He added that with no "clear and convincing justification for this harm, or any public benefit" it would be "contrary to [planning policy]".

Gary Rice, acting in support of the statue, had argued the temporary display of a statue of a "woman of colour" in place of a slave trader would make the city centre more vibrant and inclusive.

But Mr Sargent concluded there was no "firm or decisive" evidence to substantiate his claims of public benefit.

The inspector said the council had no legal basis to ignore Mr Rice's planning application however and ordered the council to pay his costs.