UPDATE: Application withdrawn.
Original post: Love it or loathe it, now is the chance for you to have your say. Plans have been submitted to Ceredigion Council to build an optical illusion sculpture on Aberaeron's harbour to commemorate the emigration of locals to Ohio in the 1800s. Consultation is now open, and closes on 26th November. A link to the application is below:
CAS trustees have already submitted our response. Whilst we fully support commemorating the emigration to Ohio and indeed giving recognition to the ‘lost girl’ of the voyage, we have formally OBJECTED to the current design proposal:
We endorse the strong public opposition that the structure will obscure the iconic harbour view out to sea and in particular our beautiful sunsets.
The scale of the 5 metre structure seems totally inappropriate - it will completely overwhelm the Look-out tower on the harbour; and the struts will be visible from many of the town’s viewpoints, interrupting those views.
As the image of Mair will only be revealed at a specific point from a certain angle, it is therefore only the unsightly struts that will be visible from most places.
We are concerned that this structure will not age well, either in terms of style and more importantly that its physical condition will deteriorate. This is actually acknowledged in the application.
Furthermore, we feel that the planning application is premature. The graphics do not incorporate the harbour extension so it is difficult to see the design in context
CAS trustees were involved in early discussions about the form the commemoration would take. At that point the proposal was for a sculpture of a 19th century travelling trunk. We believe that something of that nature would be a far more appropriate memorial for our historic harbour town.
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