Residents asked to submit Olympic statue ideas (From Dorset Echo)

Residents asked to submit Olympic statue ideas

10:30am Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Emma Walker

GRAND DESIGN: Peter Boyce-Tomkins working on the Olympic legacy sculpture mode

RESIDENTS are invited to submit ideas for a London 2012 Olym-pic legacy statue.

The 10-metre high and six-foot wide fibre glass sculpture would sit at the entrance to Osprey Quay on Portland .

It is the brainchild of Dorset sculptor Peter Boyce-Tomkins who expects the project, named Inspiration, to cost £150,000.

The statue, inspired by the shape of a sail sweeping up towards the sky, would be mounted on a bearing to swing with the wind.

The project currently has no funding or backing but Mr Boyce-Tomkins, 67, of Swanage, is determined to make his idea a reality.

He is calling for residents to go along to the Heights Hotel on Portland where a model is on display alongside a comments book.

An earlier exhibition of the project was hosted by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council during the Games but Mr Boyce-Tomkins said not enough people were aware of it.

He said: “If it is to proceed I need the support of the public to persuade funders to back the project.

“I am then hoping to get funding from the Arts Council and local businesses then get planning permission. Now is the time to act if we are to give the region an Olympic legacy to remember in years to come.

“An earlier exhibition was held during the Games but no one knew about it.”

Residents are invited to write their thoughts in the comment book about the whole idea including the shape, size and colour they would prefer for the sculpture.

The feedback will then be considered in the final plans before bids for funding are made.

Mr Boyce-Tomkins added: “It will be an imposing structure celebrating the 2012 Olympics and recognising the maritime heritage of Weymouth and Portland.

“It would give Portland a permanent reminder of a time when it was the centre of the world’s attention with all the future benefits that could bring to the area, if handled skilfully.”

Mr Boyce-Tomkins said he has spent a great deal of time researching the safety aspects of building a structure of this size and weight.

The Dorset sculptor has been working on Inspir-ation for nearly a year liaising with Sunseeker International and Bourne-mouth University.

He added: “The major aim with Inspiration is that the whole project will be designed, built and completed in Dorset.”

The Heights Hotel exhibition will be there until the end of September.