Star of Caledonia Scotland-England landmark looks set to shine

The structure would be about twice the size of Gateshead's Angel of the North and be visible for miles

A funding pledge of £5.5m could allow a landmark sculpture to be built near the Scotland-England border.

The Star of Caledonia project at Gretna missed out on Creative Scotland support six years ago.

However, it has now secured backing from wind farm operator Community Windpower.

Its support, combined with potential funding from the Borderlands Growth Deal, should help complete the £7m package the project requires.

The idea of the sculpture first surfaced nearly 20 years ago

Alasdair Houston, who chairs the Gretna Landmark Trust, said it could help the area's post-Covid recovery.

"It is a beautiful, bold, spectacular, energetic symbol of pride and identity and place which grows out of the land," he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

• What’s the point of the Star of Caledonia?

"It is situated right on the border, it will be seen by 85% of the road visitors to Scotland every year - about 10 million people," he said.

The structure would be about twice the size of Gateshead's Angel of the North and it has been estimated it would attract 100,000 visitors a year, boosting the economy by £4m annually.

By Giancarlo Rinaldi, BBC news website south Scotland reporter

When the project missed out on funding in 2014 there was a "real risk" it might never happen

The idea of some kind of public artwork at the border first surfaced nearly 20 years ago as part of plans for recovery from the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The early cost estimate was about £3m.

A competition in 2011 ultimately selected the Star of Caledonia - by Cecil Balmond and Charles Jencks - as the preferred design.

It was hoped it could be completed in time for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 but full funding was never put in place.

The team behind the project admitted there was a "real risk" it might never be completed after it missed out on Creative Scotland backing.

However, it now appears that the landmark could finally go ahead with work beginning, potentially, late next year.

The Star of Caledonia would be located near Gretna on the Scotland-England border

Mr Houston said he believed the financial estimates of the artwork's impact were "conservative".

"This is the biggest single thing that has happened to the south of Scotland in terms of a cultural project in my lifetime and it's an international scale of project," he said.

Rod Wood, managing director of Community Windpower, said the support would be generated by three wind farms in the region.

"The Star of Caledonia will be a fantastic asset to the region, proudly welcoming visitors and will potentially be a part of a wider powerful catalyst for regional regeneration in a post-Covid green recovery," he said.