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Cross Gates sculpture: The row continues
They were supposed to usher in a new era of civic pride for Cross Gates.
But instead the town's infamous 'crossed gates' sculpture has
opened is an increasingly messy can of worms.
Local politicians were today at loggerheads over who was responsible for the escalating costs of the project, which, as the Cross Gates Today revealed now stand at 143,000.
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An increasingly bitter wars of words has broken out and even those who pressed for the artwork in the first place admit it has become "an embarrassment".
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Since the gates were installed on the main Cross Gates roundabout in January, they have divided public opinion with many people branding them a waste of money.
However, local councillors and campaigners who bid for the cash for the sculpture say they are being made scapegoats for the project's overspend – the gates were originally supposed to cost 70,000.
Instead they blame council officers who they say "interfered" in the scheme, changed the colour scheme and caused delays.
Local businesswoman Kirsti Cale, who took on the campaign for a local monument, following the death of her mother, Jennifer, in 2005, said: "It was supposed to be 70,000 which is not that much for a piece of public art. Cross Gates hasn't had a penny in years, not so much as a litter bin.
"Did anyone complain when Briggate got 4m for paving slabs?
"It all went wrong because of the council – they are the ones who have let it rise from 70,000 to 143,000. It's just a case of passing the buck.
"I am furious that our names are being dragged through the mud, all we wanted to see was a 'Welcome to Cross Gates'. Now that's become a playground for anyone who wants to slag someone off for four years of trying hard.
"For me now, they could burn the thing down. It's been a waste of my time and energy. I wish I hadn't bothered."
Local councillor Pauleen Grahame backed the bid for the Cross Gates gates and she, too, now believes the issue is being used as a political tool.
She said: "A decision was made by a council officer without any consultation to change the colours and that has caused a major delay. It comes down to that interference.
"Of course I'm not happy that it has cost 143,000. But we should never have been in this position.
"It's turned into nothing but an embarrassment and is being used as a political tool. Most of the people complaining are not even from the Cross Gates area."
She also took a swipe at neighbouring councillor David Schofield (Con, Temple Newsam) who has entered the row saying his ward would be "more careful with taxpayers' money".
She said of Coun Schofield, who was recently awarded 90,000 when Leeds Co-op merged with another: "I wonder if he would like to put something towards it with the money he got from the Co-op?"
"Coun Schofield, however, stands by his opinions.
He said: "I wrote a letter on the subject because some people seemed to think it was the council behind this.
"The council gives money to the ward councillors and allows them to spend it as they want. This is what has happened here.
"I was not against Cross Gates having something quite modest and small but this has got out of all control."
The crossed gates were paid for from the 15m pot of Leeds City's Council's Town and District Centre Regeneration Scheme –which is mostly made up of taxpayers' cash and some donations from organisations like the National Lottery and housing corporations.
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Weather for Leeds
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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