Haslingden statue goes back to school

Haslingden’s much-loved ‘Workers’ statue is taking a holiday and being temporarily returned to its birthplace at Tor View Community Special School ahead of work being carried out on Road End Roundabout later this year.

The 7ft statue was designed by pupils from the school who beat 80 other competitors to design an art installation for the roundabout near Tesco. Pupils designed the statue to represent the historical cotton industry in the valley and the people who built it.

The stainless-steel piece was then manufactured by students at Accrington and Rossendale College.

With highways alterations planned as part of the circa £3 billion Haweswater Aqueduct Replacement Programme (HARP), United Utilities and its delivery partner Cascade Infrastructure have arranged for the statue to be safely stored until the work is completed.

Iain Pilling United Utilities’ Area Engagement Lead for Lancashire explained: “The new Haweswater Aqueduct will secure drinking water supplies for millions of customers in Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester.

 “While most of the construction takes place underground, some highway work is needed in Haslingden around the Road End Roundabout, we expect this to be carried out later this year and we wanted to make sure that the statue is kept safe so that when work is complete, the workers can be given pride of place again.”

As well as securing supplies for millions of customers, HARP will bring a range of economic benefits to the North West. Around 1,200 people will be employed at the construction peak with an apprentice recruitment programme to help build and secure skills for the future.

Peter Sweetmore, a governor at the school explained the importance of the statue saying: “The statue has a prominent position of the roundabout and thousands of people, including pupils from the school, enjoy it every day.

“It has stood on the roundabout since 2006 and even hit the national news in 2008 when thieves caused outrage by stealing one of the figures in what is thought was a drunken prank. Happily, the figure was returned unharmed along with £50 to pay for repairs.

“Now we want to reassure people that the statue will be well looked after. The workers are having a holiday, but they will be back.”

Sarah Clarke, Assistant Headteacher at Tor View School added: “We’re very proud of the statue and we know local people think very fondly of it. When we found out that it needed to be moved for a while we were only too pleased to welcome it home to the school where it was designed.”

The statue will be returned to the roundabout when the HARP programme is complete.