David Whitfield statue turned down

Hull Council’s planning committee rejected proposals for the statue by sculptor Graham Ibbeson in Kingston Square, just outside the New Theatre.

The David Whitfield International Appreciation Society has raised just over £30,000 in four years towards the statue of the Hull-born singer, who was a household name in the 1950s, and had global success with songs like Cara Mia and Answer Me.

Planners supported the location, but councillors disagreed.

Coun John Nicholson, who voted against, said: “We thought it was the wrong place for it because it is the only Georgian square we have that is complete in the city. It’s not actually a good likeness of David Whitfield.

“If I’d been asked beforehand I’d have preferred a bust which I think would have been better.”

However Coun Mark Collinson, who voted in favour, said he did not have a problem with the statue, adding: “The general feeling was that it should go somewhere important but not there.”

Mr Ibbeson, who created the sculpture of Eric Morecambe in Morecambe Bay, said they were looking for an alternative sites. “I’m really positive because it is going to be moulded in the next couple of weeks and then onto the bronze foundry. We just need to find an appropriate site.”

Since the star’s death in 1980, loyal fans in Yorkshire have set up a museum in Stoneferry in his memory and have had a rose named after him.