Member Article

Badger restoration work goes viral

Prudhoe’s best-known landmark has been given a facelift as part of work designed to showcase the town’s natural, industrial and cultural heritage.

The iconic 30 metre long badger was cut into a steep grassy bank overlooking the A695 bypass in the early 1990s. Commissioned by Northumberland County Council, and created by artist Gary Power in stone and marble, it has recently fallen into disrepair.

But now a group of first year apprentices at the nearby Essity tissue mill has given the badger a new lease of life moving stones back into position and giving the whole artwork a fresh coat of paint.

The work was supported by Prudhoe Town Council, county councillors Ken Stow and Gordon Stewart, Prudhoe in Bloom and Prudhoe Ground Force. Financial backing for the paint and materials came from the lottery-funded Land of Oak & Iron.

Essity’s apprentice team leader Ian Callender said: “Every year we try and involve our new apprentice intake in a project that not just shows them how important it is to be part of the community, but also helps them to get used to working as part of a team.

“The badger is a much-loved public artwork, but was looking a little sorry for itself thanks to neglect, vandalism and bad weather. We were delighted to be part of these efforts and used the artist’s original designs to restore it to its former glory.”

Northumberland county councillor for Prudhoe North Ken Stow added: “This was a real team effort and I’m grateful to Essity for supplying the manpower and Land of Oak & Iron for their funding.

“The clean-up campaign really captured the public’s imagination with news of the work going viral on social media – with hundreds of messages of support on the Prudhoe Matters Facebook page alone.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by publicrelations consultancy.com .