A NUMBER of Antony Gormley’s Iron Men have been on the move this week. Sixteen of the 100 life-size sculptures are being re-located as part of the conditions laid down when the installation was granted permanent planning permission to stay. Their removal started on Crosby beach on Monday and the operation was expected to take two or three days. It is understood the statues will be kept in storage before being re-united with the other 84 statues next year. Sefton’s cabinet committee last week authorised works costing £194,000 to relocate the 16 statues and provide new marker buoys at the installation’s perimeter. Funding for the work is coming from the Northern Way, the North West Development Agency and other external sources via Another Place Ltd, the company set up to campaign to keep the statues on Merseyside. A Sefton Council spokesman said they decided to proceed with the statues’ removal immediately because it was the right time of year to do the work. He said: “In July, removing the statues does not have any affect on wildlife issues such as bird feeding and breeding.” Each of the 650-kilo statues is being unbolted from the three-metre long iron piles and air-lifted away, together with the piles. The spokesman added: “The removal needs to be based on changing tidal conditions and should be done in a matter of days.” Gormley’s installation, entitled Another Place, won permanent planning permission in March, less than six months after councillors controversially kicked out a proposal to keep them on health and safety grounds. When permission was finally given, it was agreed that a number of statues should be relocated to address the concerns of lifeguards, water sports enthusiasts and environmentalists. Some statues are being moved from the mouth of the River Alt, which is used by small sailing boats, while others will be re-sited away from bird feeding areas, following concerns the statues and the visitors they attract would affect wildlife patterns. | 
Article
