On Behalf of Gayle Night

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by PurpleLass

The whole point of this is that she knows what she's talking about and we don't necessarily.

Hmmmm, well, that remains to be seen.
But I do agree, lets have some questions for Ms Knight. Here are a few quick ones to be going on with.

1. Since the Coppice is such a sensitive area, why can this project not be located elsewhere in the borough?

2. Why do we appear to be stuck with Mr Beard as the designer. Can we change him for someone else?

3. What is the point of having a landmark that can only be seen from the air? I don't know whether you have noticed, but there are not that many owners of light aircraft in the borough.

4. The Furrows are designed to fill up with rainwater, fine. But, what about the safety aspect?

5. The design is said to be 100 metres in diameter, how does this equate with the previously stated aim of preserving the existing trench layout of the site and how much damage is going to be caused by earth moving machinery?

[Neil]

Why don't we just wait for her to start her own thread so a sensible ish discussion can take place.

This thread would be better off closed.

[Bazf]

Quick question , I presume a study has been done, so How Much is it going to cost in the long run for the upkeep of the final design, ie not just the cutting and trimming of grass but the pathways, roads, shelters??,litter collection etc. I also presume that Hyndburn will pay for this upkeep is it in the scope of the council tax or will it have to increase or cause an increase in the future?

[Uncle Mick]

Hi Gayle!!

Just a couple of quick ones for your perusal. The inward investment for path upgrades, carparking ect . Who will follow this up, HBC or the Regional Parks scheme? How definate are you of this money appearing? Why was this not costed into the regional parks scheme project?

[lindsay ormerod]

This one's a bit more practical;given the scale of this "art",presumably it's not something you could dig by hand....Coppice/JCB how????

[Gayle]

Good evening everyone, thank you for posting questions

But once again I start with an apology. I did not know protocol and posted my initial letter in the wrong place, thank you to Busman747 for putting it in a more accessible place.

For information, I was invited on a couple of weeks ago by a member and although it’s taken me a little while to pluck up the nerve to do it I had hoped that we could have a discussion without me getting even more flak for doing what I was asked to do.

Anyway, onto the subject in hand. I will answer every question in order that they were asked – I’ll sort of skip over the conversation bit in the middle of the thread. If I disappear for a few minutes it’s because I’m answering private messages individually, I did say that I would do that.

I will state FACTS if I know them but if I don’t I will be honest explaining why I don’t know them. I will once again stress that any OPINIONS expressed are mine and mine alone – they are not the opinions of any organisation that I am involved in (by that I mean Oswaldtwistle Players, Hyndburn Women’s Forum or Mid Pennine Arts).

So it would make sense, I think, for me to explain the origin of the project. Bear in mind I only joined it a year ago and the project has been running for almost three years already so can't give you specific dates of events but I can get things in the right order. This might be a bit longwinded but I’ll keep it as brief as possible because I do want to get on to answering your questions.

Around three years ago ELP (East Lancashire Partnership) and NWDA (Northwest Development Agency) developed the idea of a Regional Park as a marketing tool for the whole of East Lancashire. This encompassed the six boroughs of East Lancashire:- Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale. They sourced some money from Central Government for the regeneration of this area to make it appealing to businesses to set up camp here and to make it less appealing for residents to move elsewhere. They approached Mid Pennine Arts to create some artwork and thus the LAND project was born. The LAND project is involved in working with the public to create things like waymarkers in forests, teaching willow weaving as a skill, and other earthy related traditional arts events. This was not high enough profile for ELP and NWDA so they asked MPA to come up with the idea for a higher profile project. MPA came up with the idea for six landmark sculptures, the PANOPTICONS, on the hills of East Lancashire, one in every borough. At that point, from what I understand, the six Councils were approached and all of them agreed, steering groups were formed and internal officers (in most cases the Arts Development Officer) were appointed to progress the project.

An open competition was held by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) to select the first three designs for Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle. This was open to architects around the world, including local architects. They received 180 entries, Mid Pennine Arts narrowed it down to six designs for each borough and the winning designs were selected by the specific steering groups for each borough (by the way, Mid Pennine Arts has no vote in any of the steering groups and these groups are made up of Councillors, Officers and people who have specific involvement in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site, i.e. local community groups who are active around that area). At that point the Halo (the big UFO shaped design) was selected for Hyndburn. As you may know, it was later rejected after media scrutiny and a change of leadership from Labour to Conservative within the Council. What you may not know is that it is now being sited on Top O’Slate in Rossendale and has attracted £300,000 extra investment for that site. Anyway, we started stage 2 in January this year to get the remaining three designs for Burnley, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn.

This was done differently by appointing a Curator for the competition and by inviting specific up and coming architects to pitch for each site. Again this was done to the steering group (members now include Cllr Brian Walmsley and Cllr Tony Dobson, by the way). The steering group selected three architects to produce draft ideas. These three ideas were exhibited in January around Hyndburn and comments forms were completed by members of the public – designs were also shown in the local papers. Working from the comments forms and with their own instincts the steering group unanimously selected Peter Beard’s earth work ideas to go forward. Again, I’ll remind you that Mid Pennine Arts had no vote at these meetings. Although, I’ll agree that it was the one that we favoured at the office there was no influence involved.

Peter Beard was then allowed time to redevelop his design. He took on board all the comments from the steering group, he avidly read the local papers and letters that came to the office and he attended meetings with a local school and local community groups. He then produced the new design which is the point we’re at now.

So, a bit long winded but essential for the discussion I think. One of the things that I want to get out of this discussion is what your actual objections are – is it the site that’s causing a problem, is it the aesthetics of the design or is it the over all rationale behind the project that’s bothering you? After I’ve answered all the questions I’ll put a poll at the top of the thread for you to complete.

I’ll keep plugging away at the questions, feel free to add more at the end and I’ll get to them too.

[Neil]

I think a concern of many people here is about the future upkeep of the project. How can we believe HBC is going to manage this when we all see the state of our local parks.

[Gayle]

Questions from Willow the Whisp



1) Why does this panopticon have to be on the Coppice? Why can't the Coppice be left alone and a work of art be placed elsewhere?

This is a tricky one in some respects as I wasn't around when the decision to use the Coppice was made. However, from what I understand Mid Pennine Arts, ELP and NWDA took advice from Hyndburn Borough Council and officers from the Council. I can understand it being chosen as an appropriate site as it does give fantastic views across the borough and is the closest to the key town in the borough. It would also be fair to say that it does need a bit of tlc at the moment and the extra money that the scheme can attract should be able to help there.


2) Who is going to look after the thing when we've got one? Even earthworks can be vandalised.

The responsibility of maintaining the site does remain with HBC. I think the issue here is that HBC don't really maintain the site at the moment. Peter Beard, the architect feels that the actual earth work should only need strimming once or twice a year to keep it tidy. As for vandalism an earth work is the least likely to attract vandalism as compared to other options we had. But, I know this is a serious concern so please allow me to consider this carefully before replying.


3) As regards this idea of concentric circles of earth with gathered rain water between - have the safety aspects been considered?

What I think Peter Beard means is that they will form and grow in the same way that the trenches have. I personally agree that having them collect water is not ideal and so perhaps some drainage system should be incorporated.


4) Please explain how anything stuck up on top of the Coppice is going to be of benefit to the town and bring investment in.

It starts a ball rolling and has a knock on effect - this has been shown in other towns so we know this to be a successful model. Gateshead is frequently quoted as the best example of this. People were against the Angel of the North but since it has been built the town has started some huge regeneration schemes, most (not all) of which have come to fruition. It attracts attention and publicity and says 'hey look what we're trying to do'. Accrington has an extremely staid image and by embracing a piece of modern art it will help to change that image. I've had requests from serious BBC 2 programmes about featuring the scheme and Accrington in particular. Once regeneration starts business start to return, retail improves and residents stop leaving for elsewhere. No one has ever claimed that the Panopticon in itself is the be all and end all of our town's problems but alongside the other things that are happening in the borough it all adds up to quite a strong regeneration outlook.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by chav1

if it is been put on the coppice to attract people to accrington and generate revenue what good is it up on the coppice as when people are up there looking at it they wont be spending any money for starters unless were building a shopping complex up there as well

It may not significantly increase the number of actual people who go up the Coppice per se, although I'm sure a few extra people will visit it and then pop into the town whilst they are around. Mostly, it will attract attention to the town in a positive way and will help to promote the town to businesses and retail. Take a look at any brochures promoting Gateshead to business and they always include The Angel of the North. It is like using a shorthand description of the town.

[Neil]

It may help if the project funding was explained. From what I understand no HBC money will be spent on the project.
If this is true then it is in fact a freebie for Hyndburn using someone elses money that we would not have to spend on anything else anyway.

[garinda]

My main objections are the siting, why can't it go on Oswaldtwistle Moors, there's more room and won't be as obtrusive and there is some parking.
You mentioned Anthony Gormley's 'Angel of the North', l don't think the chosen artist has the same cache on a world stage. l think a more well known artist would have put us more on the map and given us more prestige.

[Gayle]

Answers to Busman747's questions

It's a pity you could not be straight forward like Graham Jones who gained much respect on this site simply by being honest.

I thought that was precisely what I was doing by coming on the forum.

WHO will pay for future maintenance?

HBC will be responsible for future maintenance as they are now.

WHO will stop grafitti?

It is very hard to paint graffiti on grass which is what the surface of an earth work is made of. I don't expect graffiti to be a problem. However, on the subject of graffiti, Peter Beard has been in touch will English Heritage and they have said that if we submit an application to them for some funding they will most likely provide the means to refurbish the monument and shelter - something that has been long needed.

If the Panopticon is going to be such a great crowd-puller, are there going to be toilet blocks built as it is so far away from Accrington?

No, it's unlikely that there will be a toilet block built.

Will the Hyndburn council make the Panopticon available to all including the infirm? At the moment, only the more fit people can access the dangerous climb up to the top of the coppice.

The Panopticon itself will not make the Coppice more accessible to the infirm. However, as part of the wider scheme it is hoped that paths will be done so access should be easier. The main route that is used is from Avenue Parade and I agree that is very steep for a wheel chair (also steps make it impossible) but that is not the only route up there. The route via Arden Hall is being reviewed at the moment and Friends of Arden Hall have applied for a lot of funding to look at paths and access.

Have you personally been up there?

Yes, many times.

[park381]

Gayle, there are reasonable questions on the previous 3 pages of this post, can we expect an answer to those questions or should they be posted again.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jason

Who had this brainwave?

Reply to Jason

East Lancashire Partnership and Northwest Development Agency asked Mid Pennine Arts to come up with a high profile scheme to promote the Regional Park area of East Lancashire. They came up with the Panopticon scheme, a plan to put six landmark sculptures on the hills of East Lancashire.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jason

I certainly hope not,there are enough sites to look at on a saturday night!!

There is a Panopticon scheduled for within Wycoller Country Park, on the Haworth Road car park. It was part of phase 1 and has already been through planning permission and accepted. It will be put in place later this summer. It is called The Atom and is a sort of egg shaped viewing room that gives great views over the whole of Wycoller. It also offers a little bit of protection from the wind as the Haworth Road car park is quite exposed.