Clive Knowles

I was approached by Keith Barrow (Head of Shropshire Council) with the dilemma of falling visitor numbers visiting Oswestry and the idea of creating a visitor attraction in the form of a nature trail  to draw greater numbers of shoppers/visitors into the town, especially in areas and streets where retailers were most concerned over footfall.

His vision, was to utilise some of our more exotic sculptors, and to create a walking Safari Trail, that could be routed around the town, leaning more towards the streets where retailers were suffering.

His imagination and enthusiasm was infectious and we all found ourselves captivated by the prospect of helping our council and local community, as well as doing something really worthwhile for our town. Having never been involved, in anything similar previously, it did take a little while to realize the extent of the hurdles and practical issues lying ahead, which would need to be addressed.

Whilst we already possessed a lot of statuary, we immediately embarked upon increasing the variety and the choice, with which to facilitate such a large project. During this time, we were introduced to Keith’s team, that would help coordinate and plan the siting and locations for the chosen statues. These meetings highlighted many issues, ranging from health and safety to involving the wider community and gaining a sense of community spirit, harnessing help from anyone willing to add their weight and effort in seeing the trail succeed.

After some months in the planning and a steep learning curve concerning local politics, to the practicalities of keeping iron sculptures in public areas, we are now on the verge of installing several statues, both to test the theory and to learn more, before adding greater numbers to the town.

Of course Vandalism is a great concern, with public safety of equal importance, all huge issues, that have to be thought about carefully and addressed in detail. The council are overseeing public liability and insurance, whilst I have said any statue repairs or maintenance will be done here.

My only disappointment during this experience, is to understand, that whilst I myself have only the very best interests for the community and the town at heart, there does exist, quite probably in every community, a very few individuals, that can only heckle from the shadows and do nothing to add anything positive to their community. It is my hope that the positivity felt in the hearts and minds of those that have stepped up to give freely of their time and effort and take part, will far outweigh any scepticism felt by this minority, and will eventually prove to be a worthwhile asset for our beautifully historic town.

As this is an on-going project, that will be added to and refreshed routinely, we have no deadline or date for completion, however I do hope that with Statuary arriving from all over the globe regularly, we will be able to ensure, its continually developed and gains regular publicity, highlighting Oswestry as a destination.