Ayr sculpture being moved for £30,000 to avoid food and drink damage

An Ayr sculpture is to be moved to a new location at a cost of £30,000 after it was repeatedly used as a surface for food and drink.

The Poet and Scholar will switch from Ayr High Street to Rozelle Park, having suffered corrosion damage.

The carving was created by the sculptor Doug Cocker in 1995, but councillors heard there would be further decline if it remained on the high street.

Assistant director of communities George Hunter told councillors the move would represent good value for money and place the work of art in a safer location.

South Ayrshire Council’s depute leader Alec Clark had questioned the cost of the relocation at a council meeting on Tuesday.

He said he wasn’t against the relocation itself, just the amount of money being spent to move it.

He added: “I think some people will maybe baulk a little at the figure of £30,911.

“I am not against relocating it. It just seems rather a large amount of the finance to relocate that particular sculpture out to Rozelle Park.”

Mr Hunter said the sculpture was currently adjacent to Hope Street and next to the Grain Exchange – adding to a pinch point for people walking through that area.

He added a condition survey done on the sculpture identified sticky residue on much in the surface, likely from either from tree sap or spilled drinks.

He said: “The sculpture’s busy location suggests that it is often used as a surface for food and beverages.

“This residue has a detrimental effect on the metal surface.”

He said that the substance was also working its way through scratches on the surface of the statue to the bare bronze beneath the surface patina.

The lack of drainage is also leading to further corrosion beneath the surface.

Reporting by local democracy reporter Kevin Dyson.