With an economy of the truth that almost borders on starvation, a collection of Sefton Council paid associates are now rushing out with an avalanche of explanations as to how the exultation of rusting iron statues was financed before they appeared on Crosby Beach.

Perhaps these associates can now put forward the amounts pledged by various organisations and private companies towards the published cost of £150,000 for this project, specifying how much of this is from taxation. Under The Freedom of Information Act we can, hopefully, get full and proper information on the financing from all sources.

There appears to be little doubt that the South Sefton Partnership contains some administrators who are closely involved with the Council and are using its resources in Bootle. This has been disclosed in some of the documentation. And if this is proven to be correct, who ends up paying for these people, and is the full cost actually charged to the Partnership or to the Council?

We query the wisdom of the permission assumed to have been given to Sefton under Section 34 of the Coast Protection Act, 1949, when advice is now being given to visitors not to venture further than 50 metres away from the Promenade due to soft sand, mud and varying currents. Liverpool coastguard has also expressed concern over the danger these substantial obstructions pose to lifeboats and other waterborne craft.

In all this sad saga of money being spent on daft projects as against vital public needs, our canine friends are having a ‘whale of a time’ as we see dogs on the Crosby Beach using the statues not only to ‘cock their legs’ in their ritual activities, but some dozy dogs have even been seen dropping sticks in front of the statues in the hope of some retrieval opportunities. Sadly up to the time of this publication the statues are refusing to play ‘fetch’.

Many column inches have been generated around this madcap scheme which has certainly entertained and sometimes irritated many people. So perhaps the crafty promoters have got the publicity they wanted. But on a more serious note we think, as a Party, local residents along our northwest coastline are looking for solutions to more pressing problems from the Council, instead of pandering to extreme and merely temporary sculptural productions that appear to be sheltering under the guise of regeneration funding.

Added 2nd February 2006, a part of the "REAL" costs of this project emerge:
MEETING: CABINET MEMBER - LEISURE AND TOURISM DATE: 4TH JANUARY, 2006 REPORT OF: Graham Bayliss, Leisure Services Director ITEM NO. 4 Based on the financial position as at 31st October, 2005 expenditure on the Leisure Services Department’s overall budget is expected to exceed the available resources. 3.ii) Coast & Countryside The success of the “Another Place” visitor attraction (the Gormley’s) which opened in July 2005 has resulted in additional costs for of lifeguard cover, beach cleansing etc of £30,000. These costs cannot be met from within existing budgets.