WORK on a project which will see a giant metal elephant installed on one of Colchester’s busiest roundabouts has yet to start...nearly 12 months after plans were revealed.

The bid for the controversial 7.8-metre tall “wayfinding” statue on the Albert roundabout at Cowdray Avenue was unveiled in December 2018 and approved in March.

The sculpture is part of a project to link North Station and the town centre.

Colchester Council, Essex County Council and Greater Anglia have contributed the scheme and £200,000 has been allocated to pay for the elephant, new lighting, landscaping and improved CCTV.

When the plans were first mooted Colchester Council said work would start in spring and take four weeks.

This was later revised to starting in May, with completion in June, but as yet no work has begun.

The council said it had been anticipated to start in October but no specific date was confirmed and work has yet to start on the scheme.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

The delay was blamed on the complexity of the project and it had “taken longer than anticipated” to schedule works with utility companies and Essex Highways.

Colchester Council was asked if there was a proposed date for the project to be carried out.

A spokesman for the council said: “We remain fully committed to the Fixing the Link scheme and are working through the timelines to deliver the project as soon as possible.”

The proposal divided opinion when it was first announced with many residents questioning whether public art should be a spending priority for cash-strapped councils.

Colchester Parliamentary candidate Will Quince raised the matter in the House of Commons while Kevin Bentley, Essex County Council’s deputy leader, moved to distance the authority from the sculpture saying the detail had not been discussed with him.

The chosen design company, Dallas-Pierce-Quintero, settled on an elephant design as it is the motif of the project.

It is inspired by tales of Emperor Claudius’s dramatic arrival into Colchester with a herd of elephants to celebrate the victory of the Roman invasion in 43AD.

  • The candidates standing in Colchester in the election are Mark Goacher (Green), Martin Goss (Lib Dem), Tina McKay (Lab) and Will Quince (Cons)