BEATLES STATUES SET TO BE INSTALLED ON LIVERPOOL WATERFRONT

An artist's impression of where it is hoped the new Beatles statues will stand on the Liverpool waterfront.

Statues of The Beatles could be installed on Liverpool’s waterfront.

During the summer it was revealed that the Cavern Club is paying £200,000 for the 8ft tall bronzes of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

The club said it was donating the statues to the city and hoped they would be placed at the Pier Head.

Now a planning application has been submitted by Liverpool City Council for the statues to be placed prominently at the waterfront site near Brunswick Street, and in front of the Three Graces.

According to a heritage statement accompanying the plans, the location is “within the Castle Street Conservation Area, and the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site”.

But the planning application says the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value, which was written for the location’s World Heritage Site status, also says “the significance of the Beatles is mentioned specifically”.

The application also states: “From distant views the statue will not be seen, and even closer vistas such as the view west from Castle Street along Brunswick Street, the figures will be indistinguishable from people.

Planning application submitted for a free-standing statue of The Beatles seemingly walking across the Pier Head

“The figures will not dominate any of the listed buildings, and will have no impact on their setting.

“Similarly, the character and appearance of the conservation area will not be harmed as the proposal has a neutral impact.”

No decision on the planning application has yet been made, and there will be a period of consultation on the proposal.

People got their first glimpse of the statues, sculpted by Andrew Edwards, during the annual International Beatleweek convention at the Adelphi hotel at the end of August.

Two – Lennon and McCartney – had already been cast, and the other two were modelled in resin and clay.

The statues were the brainchild of Chris Butler of Castle Fine Arts foundry, who was inspired by the giant image of the Fab Four on the front of HMV in Liverpool One.

Writing in the Beatleweek festival brochure during the summer he said the statue would be “a monument to a moment, when the world was truly shaken. And it started here in Liverpool”.

A spokesman for Liverpool city council said: “The Cavern Club is paying for the statues and donating them to the city for the people of Liverpool and our visitors to enjoy. The city has undertaken to facilitate the proposal to install them on the waterfront.”