Rossendale Council and Tor View School Success in Roundabout Refurbishment

Back Row L-R: Sam Dillon Head of Department at Tor View, PCSO 7511 Peter Skidmore, Helen Godwin Teaching Assistant at Tor View, Carl Greenwood Site Manager at Tor View, Peter Sweetmore Chairman of the Governors at Tor View, Cllr Ann Kenyon, Cllr Christine Lamb, PCSO 7328 Ian Pickles. Front Row L-R: Pupils from Tor View and Andy Squire Principal at Tor View

Published July 25, 2016 at 13:09

Rossendale Council has supported Tor View School to refurbish the artwork on one of the main gateway sites to Rossendale.

Tor View Roundabout 4

The ‘Workers’ Statues on the roundabout near Tesco Haslingden were placed there ten years ago after Tor View School won a competition to design a piece of artwork for the roundabout. Over the years the figures succumbed to the Rossendale weather and needed replacing.

This new strucutre marks the 10 year anniversary of the structure on the roundabout.

The School managed to obtain new, replacement ‘bobbins’ and the ‘workers’ have been refurbished. Haslingden Neighbourhood Forum and Rossendale Council have provided £1000 of funding for Friends of Tor View School to cover the costs of the work needed to install the new figures on the roundabout.

Tor View pupils are delighted with the new structure

Cllr Ann Kenyon, Chair of Haslingden Neighbourhood Forum said;

“Improving the gateway sites to the Borough is a priority for Haslingden Neighbourhood Forum and I am really pleased that through the Forum and Rossendale Council we have been able to support Tor View School to get the statues back in place and brighten up one of the main entrances to our beautiful Valley.”

Cllr Kenyon, Peter Sweetmore Chairman of the Govenors at Tor View and Deputy Leader of the Council Cllr Christine Lamb visit the new strucutre

Chairman of Governors at Tor View – Peter Sweetmore stated

“We are delighted to see ‘The Workers’ back in place after around 18 months of trying to obtain the funding. We are grateful to Rossendale Council for the funds and the pupils at Tor View will be happy to see their statues back in place on their journey to and from school each day. As this is on one of the Valleys major gateways, it will be good for the Community to see the work of Tor View Students”.

In 2006 Artist Ben Sharman worked as Artist in Residence to Tor View School with Miss Fiona McIlroy, Art Teacher at Tor View, to create sculptures based on the Mill workers of Rossendale in the Industrial Age.

Fiona McIlroy said;

“Over the last 10 years the Rossendale weather took its toll of the wooden Bobbins , so more were obtained, ‘The Workers’ refurbished and have now been reinstated on the roundabout on one of Rossendales major entry points for all the Tor View pupils and the Rossendale Community to see.”

Art Teacher Fiona McIlroy and Principal Andy Squire