Questions over future of 'neglected' sculpture

The future of a town landmark has been questioned due to its "shameful" condition.

Darlington Borough Council has been urged to help clean up the Brick Train, located on the A66 at Morton Park.

Former councillor and honorary freewoman of Darlington Dorothy Long said the approaches to the sculpture were littered and overgrown.

Councillor Libby McCollom, cabinet member for local services, said the land owners planned to "assess and make good the sculpture".

Brick Train was completed in 1997 and designed by David Mach.

It commemorates the 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The project was financed largely by the National Lottery as part of Visual Arts Year 1976 and facilitated and partly funded by Darlington Borough Council.

A Darlington Council meeting was told supermarket retailer Morrisons maintained the site until the land was sold in 2022, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mrs Long urged the council to help with the clean-up, especially with the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in September 2025.

"The approaches to the sculpture are littered and overgrown and the condition of the structure itself is shameful" she said.

It was covered in weeds, moss and graffiti, but was an "asset" to the borough, she said.

"It is crucial therefore that partnerships be fostered with new owners, with businesses, with the voluntary sector, and people in the community who value it, as I do, so that it is never again neglected as it is today."

Labour councillor McCollom confirmed the sculpture was on privately owned land and it was the responsibility of the landowner to maintain it.

"Maintenance does appear to have declined since the change in ownership," she said.

"However, contact has been made with the new owner, and, in the immediate term, they have undertaken to assess and make good the sculpture."

She added they were engaging with the landowner over partnership and volunteering opportunities "to ensure the ongoing care of the sculpture".

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