Locals slam plan to light up 26ft naked man statue that could 'distract drivers'
Villagers have slammed plans to illuminate a 26ft statue of a naked man alongside a busy road.
The Yoxman statue, which stands in the grounds of Cockfield Hall in Yoxford, Suffolk, has been overlooking the busy A12 since its installation in 2021 and could soon be more visible to motorists at night.
The Yoxman statue was made by Suffolk-based sculptor Laurence Edwards and weighs around eight tonnes.
Made from cast bronze, the statue divided local opinion when it was installed on the grounds of Cockfield Hall in 2021 - with further concerns following plans to light it up at night.
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According to the planning application, the lighting would be controlled by a solar tracking timeclock, being switched on at dusk and off at a pre-set time.
The 26ft high Yoxman bronze statue of a naked man beside the A12 road at Yoxford (East Anglia News Service)Proposed lighting would be directed away from the A12 and illuminate the front of the statue. The planning application's covering letter states: "The light output would be set to between very warm white to warm white between 2000 and 2700 kelvin.
"The amount of light reaching the road would be very low given that the lights are directed away from the road towards the statue."
When not in operation, the lighting would be within the boxes under the surface of the ground, only rising at certain times to illuminate the statue. No objections to the proposals were made by Suffolk County Council's Archaeological Services, but Yoxford Parish Council has raised a number of concerns over the plans.
During a Yoxford Parish Council meeting on June 1, the following concerns were raised:
- "No information could be found in the application, to demonstrate that the needs of local wildlife and biodiversity have either been considered or planned for"
- "Given the close proximity of the statue to the A12, and being on a bend in the road with a40mph speed limit, any lighting may present a potentially hazardous distraction to passing traffic"
- "Lighting of the statue may cause a nuisance to local residents living opposite or close to it"
- "Although the village of Yoxford does not hold official Dark Sky status, Parish Council believes strongly in the value of preserving natural darkness and wishes to encourage the reduction of all light pollution of the local environment"
The Yoxman statue was made by Suffolk-based sculptor Laurence Edwards and weighs around eight tonnes (East Anglia News Service)The parish council unanimously concluded that it could not support the application and objected to the plans. A member of the public, who lives in Yoxford's High Street, shared similar concerns to those raised by the parish council.
They commented: "I'd like to object to the proposed floodlights on three grounds. The Yoxman statue is on the busy A12 and already presents a hazard to traffic in the day.
"Making it a nocturnal spectacle will only contribute to this danger.
"More importantly, light pollution caused by floodlighting at night is ecologically deleterious. It disrupts natural patterns of wildlife, particularly to endangered nocturnal wildlife like bats, owls and moths, which depend upon darkness, as well as obscuring the natural spectacle of the night sky.
The amply endowed artwork which is one the largest bronze sculptures in the UK was erected In November 2021 (East Anglia News Service)"People live in and visit Suffolk to experience and enjoy nature, and I think a floodlit statue is completely inappropriate to its environmental surrounds.
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"It's also insensitive to the historical surrounds, especially in the setting of such an important Grade 1 * listed building as Cockfield Hall. I strongly object to this proposal."
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