Wirral’s ‘Magic Boat’ planlooks dead in the water

Jan 28 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

AMBITIOUS plans to build a massive sculpture of a Viking boat on the border of Wirral looked to be dead in the water last night.

The Highways Agency re-affirmed its opposition to proposals for the Magic Boat sculpture – a move which has infuriated the local authority.

Wirral Council says it has worked with the Agency throughout the planning stages, only for “the plug to be pulled at the eleventh hour”.

The Magic Boat was designed as a “gateway” feature to be located on the roundabout where the A41 meets the M53 in Eastham.

It is part of the “Welcome to the North” initiative which seeks to improve the perception of the North to inward investors through major public art features.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said it has “put public safety first” in making its decision.

He said: “There is genuine concern, backed by legal advice, that the 30-metre high sculpture would be a distraction for drivers, and that it might attract pedestrians across the busy roundabout.

“Acts of vandalism and the potential for children to climb on the structure have also featured in the considerations, not least in the light of similar experiences with existing motorway infrastructure in the North West.

“While additional concerns regarding the consequences of vehicle impact or structural failure might, perhaps, have been mitigated through further design changes, the Agency is not prepared to accept the onerous liabilities associated with erecting this feature on highway land. As a consequence, the council has now been asked by the Agency not to grant planning permission.

“The Agency has stated that as a goodwill gesture it would consider refunding the cost of reports prepared by agents on Wirral Council's behalf, which total around £6,000.”

Plans for the 30-metre Magic Boat first came under fire when its costs spiralled from £100,000 to £300,000, and then was revealed to bear striking similarities to a sculpture called To The Skellig, which was created in 1995 in County Kerry, Ireland.

The council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Pat Hackett, said: “The Magic Boat has the full support of councillors, the local community and private sector businesses in Wirral and was approved for funding by the Northwest Development Agency.

“ Wirral Council consulted extensively over a seven-month period with residents and businesses of Wirral as well as neighbouring councils and the Highways Agency.

“The council is very disappointed that, at the eleventh hour, the Highways Agency has raised issues which were not mentioned during the Road Safety Audit undertaken by their own consultants, and new issues are also now being raised

“The council is writing again to the Highways Agency and will seek to meet them in a further attempt to deliver this important regeneration project for Wirral.”

Cllr Dave Mitchell, Chair of the ‘Magic Boat’ Working Group, said: “I am very disappointed about the Highways Agency’s position, given that we have worked with them constructively at each stage of this project.”

liammurphy