Gruffalo producers ‘surprised’ Orrest Head carvings removed in Windermere

The production company behind the children’s book The Gruffalo has said it was “surprised” to see sculptures removed in a row over copyright.

Windermere Town Council took down the carvings in Orrest Head in the Lake District, which are privately owned by a family in the area, after it received a letter about infringement.

Production company Magic Light Pictures said it had spoken to the council and was “trying to get these back up as soon as possible”, adding it “would like to see more even more characters added”.

The council said “everyone was working hard to find a solution”.

Magic Light Pictures licenses the rights to The Gruffalo on behalf of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, who created it.

An earlier letter told the council it did not have permission to use these “character likenesses” at Orrest Head or any other site, “as such activity represents copyright infringement”.

In its latest statement, the production company said it wanted “to ensure that everything associated with The Gruffalo is of the highest quality, and also need to make sure all activity in a local area is co-ordinated”.

It said it had sent a “standard email” to the council “asking for more information”, adding it was “surprised to learn that the carvings had been taken down”.

“We will look to issue a licence agreement with no fee attached, and would like to see even more characters added, rather than taken away,” it added.

Tamsin Travis, who runs a social media account with the aim of encouraging people to visit the Lake District, said was “genuinely delighted” to learn the carvings would return.

Ms Travis previously said the original Gruffalo carving had been there for almost a decade “with no issue”.

“I do appreciate how proactively Magic Light Productions have taken onboard the community response,” she told BBC Radio Cumbria.

“I really hope that many children will enjoy them for years to come.”