Council rules out makeover for Robert Burns statue in Dumfries

The Statue of Robert Burns is often pictured with a gull atop its head

Calls for a landmark statue in Dumfries to be restored have been rejected by the local council.

Some residents have complained that the Robert Burns statue is in a "bad way" and looks particularly shabby now that the town's fountain has been upgraded.

The marble figure has overlooked the high street since 1882. It was last restored in 2005 and cleaned in 2018.

However Dumfries and Galloway Council said it has no current plans to clean or restore the statue.

• The latest headlines from Scotland

• Read more stories from South Scotland

• How a 140-year-old fountain came back to life

Donald Gibson, 73, a retired civil servant who grew up in Dumfries, said he was "extremely concerned" about the condition of the statue.

"Sadly, it's in a bad way, it is in the process of slowly disintegrating," he said.

"I think with traffic pollution and air pollution and everything like that it's really in a bad way. It needs to be removed, taken down, taken away and restored properly."

When the statue was refurbished in 2005, decayed areas affected by pollution were repaired, and "pollution crust" up to 15mm thick was removed, according to the Canmore National Record of the Historic Environment.

A number of cracks were also treated along with previous poor-quality repair work.

Mr Gibson said that there was now stark contrast between the statue and the town centre fountain which was restored earlier this month.

The town centre fountain is back in operation after a long hiatus

"It was once the most beautiful statue to Robert Burns in the world in my opinion," he said.

Mr Gibson would like for the statue to be restored, a copy made to go back on to the high street and the original put in a museum or gallery.

"I'm pretty sure it would be money well spent for the town, it would be an investment and people would come to the gallery and they would see all the other Burns memorabilia."

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it has no current plans to clean or restore the statue and that any such work would need to be carried out by a a conservation specialist.

"The statue is a Historic B Listed Monument and overseen by Historic Scotland," a spokesman said.

"As such, the statue cannot be removed and replaced with a replica."