The Community Grants Panel agreed this morning (Tuesday, September 1) to pledge £5,160 to enable the Coleridge Memorial Trust to fund the crucial first stage of the project.
The trust has already raised £30,000 towards the overall cost of £80,000, but needed to ensure that a further £20,000 was in the kitty so that the initiative could move forward.
A crowdfunding campaign amassed £14,840 and the councillors agreed to make up the shortfall.
Speaking at the virtual meeting, Cllr Helen Parr said: “Coleridge has a tremendous connection to Ottery and I think a statue would be a worthy memorial to him.”
Mike Ferguson from the trust said the decision is ‘a wonderful result for us and the town’ and ‘everything we could have hoped for’.
The trust will now work towards having the bronze, lifesize statue in place outside Ottery church in time for the 250th anniversary of Coleridge’s birth, in October 2022.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here