The controversial £150,000 Cambridge Don statue must be removed, planning inspector rules

The controversial Cambridge Don statue - said to represent the late Prince Philip in his role as chancellor of the University of Cambridge - must be removed within four months, a planning inspector has ruled.

The £150,000 statue, which weighs three tonnes and stands 3.9-metre (13ft) tall, was put up outside Charter House in Cambridge’s Hills Road in March 2023 by property firm Unex.

But no planning permission was in place.

In March 2024, the city council issued an enforcement notice demanding its removal, claiming it was causing a “harmful material impact on the visual amenity of the wider townscape and the New Town and Glisson Road Conservation Area” and failed to meet the requirement to deliver “successful and high-quality public art”.

Unex disagreed and appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, arguing the sculpture and construction of the concrete plinth it sits on do not comprise acts of development that require planning permission.

A public inquiry was held on 6 and 8 August and the inspector published a decision on Wednesday (11 September), dismissing the appeal and upholding the council’s demand that the sculpture is removed.

The inspector decided the plinth, however, while constituting ‘development’, need not be removed, since it is below ground level. Instead, Unex has been told to “restore the land to its former condition prior to the installation of the unauthorised sculpture – by filling any hole in the grassed area, resulting from the removal of the sculpture, with top soil, then seeding the area with grass seed”.

Following the decision, a spokesperson for Cambridge City Council said: “We welcome the Planning Inspector’s decision to dismiss the appeal that had been brought against the council’s enforcement notice against ‘The Cambridge Don’ sculpture.

“The statue was erected without planning permission and was in breach of planning control like anything erected without the correct permission. Given its size and location in the New Town and Glisson Road conservation area it would have been unlikely to receive planning approval even if it had been sought because it would have contravened national and local planning policies.

“As we have said throughout this process, it's frustrating that the council has had to spend time and money to achieve this outcome, but the inspector’s decision makes it very clear that planning policies are in place for a reason and should be respected.”

Following the placement of the Cambridge Don, a council public art officer said it was “possibly the poorest quality work that has ever been submitted to the council”, although a poll on the Cambridge Independent website found 50 per cent in favour of removing it and 50 per cent happy for it to remain.

The planning inspector made no judgment on its aesthetic quality, noting that was “subjective”, and did not agree with the council about its impact on the street, stating: “I do not find the sculpture to be overbearing, to draw the eye unduly, or to obstruct any key views more than momentarily.

But the inspector found the development did breach council policies on public art, which require artworks to be sensitive and appropriate to their location, noting the Hills Road site had only a “tenuous connection to the university” and criticising the complete lack of “engagement with and input from the community in the design process”.

During the inquiry, the developer showed a video of the statue being temporarily moved by a lorry-mounted crane from the plinth to a site next to the office building over the course of one hour, to show it could be moved, and noted that it does rotate artworks around its site.

However, the inspector noted it had not otherwise been moved since it was placed in March 2023 and said: “There is no evidence to suggest that its future relocation is probable.”

He said: “I conclude that the sculpture amounts to a development that is not of a poor enough standard to result in harm to the existing character and appearance of the townscape or to any heritage assets. However, for the reasons set out earlier in my decision, I find that it is not of good enough quality, as a public artwork, to comply with the council’s place making policies and objectives. Planning permission for the sculpture will therefore be refused.”

Unex has been contacted for comment.