Ribble Piddler will cost £60,000

Published: Monday, 25 May 2009

IT WAS revealed, at a meeting last week, that the total cost of the statue on the Millennium Ribble Link will be over £60,000.

The Gauging the Ripple statue—well known as the Ribble Piddler, which was removed owing to cracks, has been in storage at the British Waterways' depot in Burnley. As British Waterways did not negotiate a guarantee, there will be no refund of the original cost.

The sculpture was part of an arts trail along with three other smaller pieces—commissioned by British Waterways as part of the Millennium Ribble Link project at a cost of £20,000.

Then there was the cost of removal to Burnley.

The anticipated cost for the replacement of the sculpture is up to £30,000 for mould, materials and construction, plus £10,000 for transportation and installation.

The added costs relating to inspection, maintenance and three meetings at British Waterways in Wigan were not recorded.

The plan now is to replace the statue in cast iron, that may last a little longer than the few years of the original wood statue.