Animal sculptures to be installed on Swindon roundabouts

Animal sculptures will be installed on major roundabouts as a nod to the natural and pastoral history of a town.

Swindon Borough Council has given planning permission to put up landmark sculptures on the White Hart and Gable Cross roundabouts.

Three deer will be placed at the White Hart roundabout and a shire horse will be installed at Gablecross.

The figures are being constructed by artist Holly Hickmore.

The bellowing stag will be in an open area of woodland, while the hind and fawn will be in front of three oak trees to enhance the existing woodland on the roundabout.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the council said: "The horse has been chosen to remind us of how we manufactured and manipulated landscape, and how the plough horse transported the crops we grew and goods we made before and alongside canals and rail."

Along with the horse on the Gablecross island, two large mounds will be constructed by landscaper Trudi Entwistle, aiming to "resonate with the context of ancient earthworks, but also suggesting the ploughing ridge lines of a field", the council added.

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