Welsh dragon tower given go-ahead
Tuesday 8th February 2011, 12:25PM GMT.
Plans for a £9 million project to build a dragon sculpture which would tower above the Shropshire and Welsh border have been given the go-ahead.
The 41-metre high tower with a 23 metre bronze dragon sitting on top has been called the area’s own version of the Angel of the North.
The creators say it will attract about 230,000 visitors a year and will bring millions of pounds into the local economy. But its critics last night called the planned structure a concrete monstrosity.
Wrexham County Borough Council’s planning committee granted permission for the dragon tower, to be built at the Halton roundabout on the A483 Chirk bypass.
Because the land is owned by the council it is subject to a three-month review when it could be called in by the Welsh Assembly.
But following the granting of permission the man behind the plans Simon Wingett said he was hopeful the tower would now finally go ahead.
The bottom of the tower will house tourist and cultural attractions including tourist information, a cafe, shop and art gallery.
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Where is this £9 million going to come from?
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English taxpayers, most probably.
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no donations from people who care about cancer research, i donate a pound in memory of my mum who died of breast cancer
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ITS COMING FROM PRIVATE DONATIONS BOB VISIT WELSHDRAGON.CO.UK AND GIVE A POUND TO APOLOGISE HM FOR YOUR ILL INFORMED COMMENT
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All very well, but did they incorporate my idea of 40 foot flames shooting from its mouth and nostrils? If not, I can’t see it attracting any tourists at all.
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can the English now build a massive St George to come & kill it?? ;-)
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The legend of the Red Dragon is that it killed the White English dragon. Pity we couldn’t do that on Saturday
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Not quite, Paul. The legend is that the white dragon killed the red dragon, which rose again. This was said to symbolise the defeat of the Welsh/British by the Saxons, but the ultimate victory of said Welsh or British over the Saxon sometime later. King Henry Tudor’s victory over Richard III was said to have been in accordance with the legend.
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Surely in these times of austerity, the money would be better spent elsewhere?
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its not public money though millie
i cant think of much better than spending it on cancer research like this, did you realise that before you commented? that the whole project is a tribute to cancer care and will raise money and donate profits to cancer research
no i dont suppose you did
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The article doesn’t actually mention that it is for charity at all. However, I think the £9 million might be better going directly to the charity (an extremely worthwhile cause), if this is indeed the case, it is going to take a lot of donations and fund raising to get £9 million in the first place and that is before the charity gets a penny I assume. It is quite hideous too!
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IT IS GOING TO CHARITY LONG TERM TOO READ IT, ITS FOR CANCER CARE, A GREAT CAUSE
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What a monstrous waste of money. How many nurses or police officers will be axed to pay for this brainless idea?
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I think you’ll find the money was raised/donated and not LA/Govt funded ……
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Probably none – I wasn’t aware that there were any plans for this to be publically funded.
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YOU MUST BE STUPID OR BLIND TO THINK THIS IS PUBLICALLY FUNDED
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its not publically funded rob
HA HA you look silly now with your ill informed comment HA HA
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I think the whole population of England and Wales could find a much better use for £9m.
What a utter waste of time and money shame on the planners.
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What ever Next ?..They already have my name in Lights all over the Principality…..
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I think its a fantastic idea and it will be funded with private monies not public not like that monstrosity built in Shrewsbury.It will bring in tourism and create more jobs thus help with the economy around that area.
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Interesting investment when the far more useful Wrexhamand Shropshire railway line has just been closed down. What could 9 million have done for that!
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So it could be Wale’s version of the Angel of the North.
What an eyesore that is. An expensive heap of scrap on a hill. How can anyone be proud of that.
However the Welsh dragon tower looks quite good in comparison.
The cost well lets just take a look at the money Telford and Wrekin council has wasted on it’s new headquarters before a brick has been laid!
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Whoever raised the 9 million pounds lets look at things logically and with some common sense do we really need this sculpture? Cant the money be put to something the community REALLY needs?
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Presumably the people who donated did look at this logically and gave their own money towards this sculpture and not something else. I’m sure those who don’t like it didn’t donate and probably won’t visit it.
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why do we pay council tax on crap like this, wake up people protest our money could do better things like lower council tax, lower parking feees better bus services but they rather build crap to look at.
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Did you read any of the comments above? It’s not being funded with public money.
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I havnt read the article or the comments but how typical that in times of such austerity public money is being wasted on such a pointless project.
Also how typical of the welsh to come up with something which is both nationalistic and tasteless.
I might apply to the arts council for funding to build a 100ft high white dragon opposite it. And I’ll make sure this one blows fire out of its nostrils and mouth.
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You’re right you can’t have read the article as no public money is being spent on the project
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Spacecadet said:
how typical of the welsh to come up with something which is both nationalistic and tasteless.
As someone born in Wales and lived there for the first 19 years of my life, I should find that comment needlessly jingoistic and borderline racist.
And, yet.
I find that – deep down – I agree with it.
But a word of caution. On Monday, my wife & I had cause to stop overnight in Gillingham. We have, since then, thought long and hard to think of a more dis-spiriting experience, and have failed miserably.
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Shame you didn’t read the article or comments, or you’d have known that it isn’t actually being built with public money.
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Comments on here are ridiculous. Does anyone who reads this paper have any brains? It is not public funded it is all private money, not like most of your English buildings, such as the Millenium Dome and Wembley! Also it’s not even been built by a Welshman, so enough of this rubbish that it’s a typical Welsh nationalist thing to do. If you don’t like it don’t visit it. If you don’t like Wales, don’t live here, too many people here have holiday and second homes…let’s hope we can raise taxes in this area to pay for more great images of art that will bring people who love Wales, her language and culture in. By the way, I’m not xenophobic…I’m half English myself.
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WELL SAID
ITS TRUE ITS NOT PUBLICALLY FUNDED
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great news
i gave my pound
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WELL DONE JAMES
I AM PLEASE YOU CAN READ UNLIKE SOME OF THE ILLITERATE PEASANTS BELOW, YOU HAVE FOUND THE CLEAR LINK WHICH IS TO DONATE PRIVATE MONEY TOWARDS THIS SO IT CAN GET BUILT
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good come on cymru
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I’ve searched through all the articles about the tower (not just in the Shropshire Star) and i can’t find anything that says it will be funded from private money. Plenty to say it will create jobs and bring in revenue once built but nothing to say where the money to actually build it will come from.
Are we seriously saying that people’s one pound donations are going to fund it and if it’s a tribute to cancer care as wyn jones says above surely Cancer Research would prefer the nine million pounds spent on actual research (as would i so that it might stop another close family member being lost to it)?
Did you also know that the statue will only last for 25 years according to the architect?
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LOOK ON THEIR WEBSITE (ASSUMING YOU CAN READ)
http://www.thewelshdragon.co.uk/
ITS FUNDED WITH NOT A PENNY OF TAXES
ITS FUNDED ALL WITH PRIVATE DONATIONS
SEE THEIR LINK TO THE ONE POUND APPEAL
http://www.thewelshdragon.co.uk/
FEEL FREE TO DONATE A POUND IF ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE EMBARESSED BY YOUR INABILITY TO READ
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Quick hint – if you’re going to try and insult me about being able to read make sure you learn to spell first.
Having read it my comments still stand – donations alone will not finance the statue so i’d love to be able to read something that gives me a forecast of where all the money comes from. Happy to be enlightened by someone with obviously more intelligence than i have.
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I haven’t come across anywhere that says this total and utter waste of money will be paid for by anyone yet, so I presume some of my hard earned wages will go towards it. How dare they even consider this act of lunacy when schools are being threatened with closure, so many plans for good things have been shelved, and the majority of us are struggling to pay for the fuel we need to get to work.
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Listening to the news, daily, there seems to be cutbacks of one sort or another.
9 school closures in Shropshire.
50 schemes axed. ie, road improvements, Ellesmere market hall upgrade, Emstry crematorium improvement.
Oswestry new leisure centre, not to have a cafe.
The air ambulance is financed by charity, so is cancer & heart research guess what ?
They are spending £9 million on a statue of a dragon, on Halton roundabout at Chirk.
They say it will bring in thousands of visitors to the area….should be interesting watching the already over crowded, congested A483/A5 filled with these people driving round and round the Halton rounabout, not watching where they are driving. But instead looking at a mythical creature.
What a total waste of Local taxes…..Am i missing something here ???
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P.S…….If the designers could make the structure very much stronger…They could put a white Elephant up there instead…….
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I think we have established that the Dragon wasn’t funded through public money!!
So feel welcome to construct it on the England – Wales border.
I wonder why that part of the border was chosen?
It looks ok but I do wonder how many folks will actually bother to visit it. I could see myself driving past it and commenting “Oh look there is that Dragon sculpture thingy” but not actually stopping to see it up close. Mind you I’, not a tourist:)
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brilliant
i really like it, it will be good for tourism and the economy and it looks nice! i also think its a wonderful cause to raise money for cancer in this way, well done to all who have helped fund it and develop it
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I cannot beleive this! in a recession, it must be the same stupid councillors who approved that public art in shrewsbury riverside. i hope they sack them all, this is a waste of my taxes
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How far away will it be visible?
At nightfall, if it were lit up (by its own light or by reflections) it might be attractive from a distance.
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i do hope all these people who got in WRONG will go and give a pound to the cancer charity now via http://www.welshdragon.co.uk as way of apology
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