By Safira Ali

Last updated 12:19, Saturday, 12 April 2008

THE public have blasted Workington’s newest £35,000 piece of art as a monstrosity and a waste of money.

Dave and Fiona Hammond check out Workington’s newest piece of art

The black steel column opposite HSBC bank on Pow Street was put up earlier this week.

The monument, called Curwen’s Column, has been dedicated to John Christian Curwen, who was MP for Cumberland and Carlisle between 1786 and 1812 and from 1820 to his death in 1829.

It is made from steel rails made at the steelworks in Workington before production ended in 2007.

But the monument has baffled people in Workington who said they did not understand it and thought it was incomplete.

Keith Wallace, of Barepot, said: “It looks like it’s not finished. It needs a statue on the top of it. Someone like Henry Curwen.

“They shouldn’t leave it as it is. I don’t mind them spending the money on it as long as something is on the top, like a mariner looking out.

“But the £35,000 could have been used to take the shutters off the empty shops and put curtains on the windows to make them look nicer. Workington looks like a ghost town. The council spent all that money to weld the steel together. We could have done it for 50 quid.”

Geoff Bates, of Pearl Road, Salterbeck, said: “It’s a monstrosity. There is no meaning to it. It’s not art. It would be worth the money if there was a statue there that represents Workington. Like Henry Bessemer or Tom Mitchell.”

Dennis Shepherd, of Salterbeck Drive, Salterbeck, said: “I am bewildered by it. It is ridiculous to have spent that much money on it. People will love it when they are drunk on a Friday and Saturday night. But tThere will be graffiti all over it in a fortnight.”

The amount of shrubbery was reduced, railings were moved, the car park was remodelled and the whole area was re-paved in granite to create the new square.

The total cost was £160,000. The column alone cost £35,000 and was designed by Cumbrian-born artist Edward Allington.

Allerdale Council said they chose the location because the HSBC bank was one of the best buildings in the town.

A council spokesman said: “There was no seating to enable you to look at the bank building or to relax with some protection from the traffic. Some of the former seating on Pow Street was lost to the new development and this reduced the places people had to relax.

“It will greet people as they approach Workington, will frame the view down Pow Street and give people a larger space to relax in with protection from the traffic. Importantly the column refers directly to the industry of Workington as it is made from steel rails made at Corus.

“The space is dedicated to John Christian Curwen and there will be a series of plaques on the seats referring to his achievements. People will now have a pleasurable place to sit, eat lunch or meet up with friends.”

Funding for the project has come from a £2.74m grant from the North West Development Agency for art work in the town centre.

These include the coastline; the grills in the multi-storey car park with anagrams of Workington; the Lookout clock; The Hub; and the Portico which includes the redesign of the space near Woolworths which is being developed.

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