‘Snub’ claim over huge Man of Steel sculpture

ARTS bosses at a local authority have been accused of snubbing plans for a Yorkshire “gateway” sculpture, despite holding a £500,000 pledge to replace two landmark cooling towers demolished four years ago.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Aug 2012, 07:00 BST

Sheffield’s Tinsley towers were knocked down over the August Bank Holiday in 2008 and power giant E.ON, which owns the site, told councillors it would donate half a million pounds to fund a sculpture in the area.

In 2009 city artist Steve Mehdi began progressing plans for the Man of Steel, a 30m high creation to rival Gateshead’s Angel of the North, which celebrates the region’s industrial heritage and has won major backing. But Sheffield Council has consistently declined to put the £500,000 towards the idea, and officers said they could not talk to Mehdi about the project, forcing him to find another site in Rotherham.

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Earlier this month the Man of Steel won planning permission from Rotherham Council, meaning work on its construction could begin within months, but Sheffield Council said yesterday it was still looking for its own idea. But the authority said no other ideas for the E.ON cash have yet been decided upon, while preparatory work on the Man of Steel, planned for a former landfill site, is almost complete.

E.ON has now started work on a biomass power station on the site of the Tinsley towers.

A spokesman for the firm said the £500,000 was still available 
to the council, but said no decisions appeared to have been made by the council on how best to use it.

Nerves of steel: Page 3.

Related topics:E.ONSheffield CouncilYorkshireGatesheadTinsleySheffield