Wallace and Gromit statue in Preston is a 'cracking' idea

A statue of Wallace and Gromit in front of Preston’s Market Hall has been given the go-ahead after Town Hall chiefs decided it was a “cracking” idea.
How the Wallace and Gromit statue will look.How the Wallace and Gromit statue will look.
How the Wallace and Gromit statue will look.

The Plasticine pair are being immortalised in bronze in a seven-foot high tribute to creator Nick Park.

Four-time Oscar winner Nick, who is from Walmer Bridge, admits he is delighted to be honoured by the city council with such a grand sculpture.

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“It’s such a great honour for me as a proud Prestonian to see my characters Wallace and Gromit cast in bronze and given pride of place in my hometown,” he said.

Oscar-winner Nick Park says the statue is a "great honour" for him in his hometown.Oscar-winner Nick Park says the statue is a "great honour" for him in his hometown.
Oscar-winner Nick Park says the statue is a "great honour" for him in his hometown.

The statue, currently being made at a foundry in Wales, will show the pair at a park bench in a pose from the 1993 Aardman Animations film The Wrong Trousers.

The idea of a Wallace and Gromit statue first emerged back in 2010 as part of Preston Vision. Now the city council is funding it from a £1m pot of money it received from the Government’s Towns Fund initiative for pop-up projects which aim to encourage people back into the city centre after the pandemic.

It will be sited near to the market hall entrance at the western end, facing Orchard Street.

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Preston Council put in an application to its own planning department for permission to erect the statue.

An officer report said it was a sculpture which will be located “within the urban area and would be a statue relevant to Preston’s pop culture history and contribution to the arts”

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