Celtic cross shortlisted for funds

PROPOSALS for a massive Celtic cross and the opening up of neglected woodland near the Tamar Bridge have been officially put forward.

The proposal for the 66ft tall cross at the Gateway to Cornwall has inspired controversy, with some local residents saying they are "strongly opposed" to the plans.

The cross is intended to be the Cornish equivalent to Antony Gormley's Angel of the North in Gateshead, but protesters say money would be better spent on providing footpaths through the Elwell Wood, next to the Tamar Bridge in Saltash.

Under the plans, Elwell Woods, neglected woodland alongside the Tamar Bridge which has been closed to the public for more than 40 years, would be transformed into a public resource, with the cross, designed by Simon Thomas, as its centrepiece.

Local sculptor Mr Thomas, whose design was selected as the winner from more than 80 entries, was at Friday's event at Saltash Guildhall, along with Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project, and Cornwall Council's chief executive Kevin Lavery who pledged their support and toured the site.

The Saltash scheme is one of three projects in the South West to be shortlisted for a national Flagship award of up to £450,000 from the Lottery Community Spaces programme.

The principal aims of the project, if the grant is approved, are to open up the woods with basic public facilities and provide an enhanced environment for wildlife.

The area is also the intended site for the 20-metre high modern New Celtic Cross, which would be visible to visitors to Cornwall as they cross the Tamar Bridge.

Project leader Joe Ellison said: "We were absolutely delighted that Tim Smit and Kevin Lavery came out and supported it. The cross has caused quite a lot of controversy over the last fortnight, so for them to support it was fantastic.

"The project has been a long time in gestation, we've been talking about it for well over a year. Having got past the first stage of the Lottery Flagship award, we're now at stage two, which will go before the national panel in January."

He said the project is up against two others in the South West, based in Exeter and Torbay, for the grant. Mr Ellison said: "At the moment, it looks like we've got a one in three chance of getting it.

"The cross is a statement of a kind of vision – what we see it doing for Cornwall is what the Angel of the North did for the North East.

"That met with a lot of opposition as well but I think it's genuinely accepted as a masterpiece – I think the same thing will come to pass here."