Arts project based on poet and toads brings £500,000 into city

Larkin with Toads had a shaky start, but the 40 colourful fibreglass sculptures proved an overnight success, capturing the hearts of most residents and changing perceptions about the city. A new report says more than 80 per cent of cafes and restaurants near sculptures saw footfall increase, with 120,000 people taking part in the toad trail and some making return trips.

Some 60,000 maps of the trail were downloaded or distributed, with people sharing photos on the internet site Flickr and setting up their own toad trail blogs on the internet.

The report’s co-author Elaine Burke said people’s affection for the toads was “extraordinary”.

As well as the £500,000 generated for the local economy, the positive public relations is said to be worth over £500,000, with over three million people tuning in or reading stories about the toads.

She added: “In the national media it gave people pause for thought about the perceptions of “dull” Hull.”

Hull Council withdrew its £200,000 grant at the start of the project, but initially sceptical businesses ended up contributing £150,0000.

Coun Rick Welton, who created one of the sculptures, the Twinkle Toad, said the political furore had an unexpected result.

He said: “It didn’t help in terms of the scale of the project – we had to cut back our ambitions and it made businesses wary – but it also created a frisson and when they did appear they had an even bigger impact.”

The Larkin Toad now lives at Larkin’s old home at Newland Park in the city. Organiser Emily Penn said: “I think he would have been astonished by the scale of the project.

“Those people who knew him thought he would be quietly pleased and flattered by it. He was an animal lover – and he had a Toad dustbin, beanbag and ornaments.”

The toads legacy is living on, with £5,000 per year, part of the proceeds of a charity auction which netted £50,000 for good causes, going to a new arts fund. Around a dozen toads, including Magenta Toad, which was stolen and later found abandoned by the A63, are still in their old locations.

Sadly for toad lovers there are currently no plans for a repeat event.