Seaweed sculpture planned for Scarborough harbour

The sculpture will be installed on Scarborough's East Pier

A three-metre seaweed sculpture by a Yorkshire artist is to be installed on Scarborough's harbour.

Paul Morrison's artwork depicting bladderwrack seaweed is to be erected on the town's East Pier.

It will cost around £79,000, including 15 years of maintenance costs, according to North Yorkshire Council.

The sculpture is part of the Wild Eye project, which the local authority said would "connect people to the natural world" through art.

As part of the initiative, a series of artworks will be installed on a 3.4-mile (5.5km) trail connecting key sites including Scarborough Castle, Marine Drive and the Cinder Track.

Nic Harne, the council's corporate director for community development, said the project would "boost the nature tourism economy in the town, whilst also creating experiences that can be enjoyed throughout the year by residents".

Mr Morrison's seaweed sculpture was selected after consultation with a local community advisory group, Mr Harne told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The artwork is intended to draw attention to local initiatives such as SeaGrown Seaweed Farm, according to the council.

It will be funded using part of £20.2m in Town Deal cash allocated to Scarborough by the government in 2021 for regeneration schemes.

The Wild Eye project is overseen by Scarborough-based environmental arts organisation Invisible Dust and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.