Landmark arch to be made more weather resistant

A landmark sculpture that welcomes residents home will be reinstalled with some alterations to make it more resilient to bad weather.

The Peterborough Arch at Thorpe Meadows is being restored after it was found to have suffered extensive damage in 2022.

Louise Thirlwall, the project development officer at Nene Park, said it was important to restore the sculpture as it had become "an important landmark along the roadway".

Adjustments such as new footings on the sculpture and it being raised slightly off the ground aimed to prevent water damage.

The artwork, carved from iroko wood, was removed for safety reasons after it became water damaged.

While it had previously undergone minor repairs, the arch needed significant work including to the inside of one of the legs.

Alongside grants to the Nene Park Trust from the Henry Moore Foundation and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, an appeal to raise £3,000 helped meet the £50,000 restoration costs.

The sculpture will also get a new maintenance programme, so every year it will be checked to help safeguarded its future.

Ms Thirlwall said: "This sculpture is significant because the artist visited the park when it was just a blank landscape before any of the trees were planted.

"Lee Grandjean chose that location especially because he wanted to welcome new residents, new workers into the city and also to recognise its heritage by looking towards the mediaeval centre of the city towards the cathedral.

"The sculptures really significant to lots of our visitors and lots of visitors to Peterborough because it's created an important landmark along the roadway.

"We've had so many people telling us [when] they've passed the Peterborough Arch they know they're home, it's really significant place marker for people."

She added the work would be "quite a lengthy process" but the trust hoped to have the sculpture back in place this year.

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