Planning Applications

Maquette statue of Sir Keith Park created by international sculptor Mr. Leslie Johnson


CGI image of the Sir Keith Park statue on the 4th Plinth, Trafalgar Square


CGI image of the Sir Keith Park statue, Waterloo Place

Westminster City Council Planning Applications

The Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign was launched on 7th March 2008 when Battle of Britain pilots, senior serving RAF officers, a great-great niece of Sir Keith Park, politicians and many other supporters assembled in Trafalgar Square beside a full-size replica Spitfire.

Since the Campaign's launch we have received overwhelming support from: Boris Johnson, Mayor of London; the GLA; a number of House of Lords members from all parties, and well known former politicians such as Tony Benn, Lord Tebbit; Cross-party support of all the New Zealand political parties and His Excellency The High Commissioner for New Zealand, Mr Derek Leask. Alongside this political support we have received the support of the RAF; Battle of Britain veterans; Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff; ex-services organisations; members of the Park family both in the UK and abroad, as well as well-known individuals such as Sir Patrick Moore, Dan Snow, Edward Fox OBE and Dr. Stephen Bungay. Thousands of people have now signed the Campaign’s petition in both in the UK and New Zealand, from the Commonwealth and around the world. Furthermore, over 10% of all UK MPs have signed EDM '1206', EDM '490' and the currently tabled EDM '651' - 'Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign';

On 30 October 2008, the Campaign unveiled a maquette statue, produced by internationally respected sculptor, Mr. Les Johnson. This event was held at City Hall, Office of the Mayor of London and was a great success with huge support for the statue expressed by the many supporters who attended.

Following the unveiling at City Hall, applications for a temporary statue on the 4th Plinth in Trafalgar Square and a permanent statue in Waterloo Place were then submitted along with the actual maquette statue to Westminster City Council Public Art Advisory Panel (WCCPAAP), a panel who offer advice to Westminster City Council Planning Department on planning submissions concerning new statues. The response from the WCCPAAP was extremely positive regarding the final form of both the temporary and permanent statues.

The Campaign then submitted its official planning applications for both a temporary statue on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square and a permanent statue in Waterloo Place, to Westminster City Council Planning Department in very early 2009.

On Thursday, 7th May 2009, Westminster City Council Planning Committee passed the planning applications for a temporary statue of Sir Keith Park to stand for six months on the Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square, to be unveiled on 4 November 2009, and a permanent statue of Sir Keith Park to be unveiled in Waterloo Place on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, 15th September 2010.

Planning Application 4th Plinth, Trafalgar Square

The planning application for the temporary statue of Sir Keith Park on the 4th Plinth was submitted to Westminster City Council Planning Department in very early 2009.

The planning application for a temporary statue of Sir Keith Park on the 4th Plinth, Trafalgar Square, for six months, was considered and passed on Thursday, 7th May 2009, by Westminster City Council Planning Committee. This statue of Sir Keith Park was unveiled on 4 November 2009.

The temporary statue was made at WETA Workshop, New Zealand, and was produced from a 3ft (1m) statue, representative of the maquette statue, unveiled at City Hall.. Images of this event can be found on the 'Images' page of this website. WETA Workshop is co-owned by Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Peter Jackson (director of Lord of the Rings), they produced the special effects and models for all three 'Lord of the Rings' epic films and have achieved numerous awards in their time of production. Once completed the 15ft (5m) statue was shipped from New Zealand to London in preparation for its unveiling on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, on 4 November 2009. The temporary statue of Sir Keith was removed from the Fourth Plinth on 5 May 2010 after the six month period, and now resides permanently in the Battle of Britain hall in the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon.

For further information on Mr. Les Johnson, WETA Workshop and the Royal Air Force Museum please click on the following links: www.lesjohnsonsculptor.com
www.wetaworkshop.co.nz
www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/

Planning Application Waterloo Place

The planning application for the permanent statue of Sir Keith Park in Waterloo Place was submitted to Westminster City Council Planning Department in very early 2009.

The planning application for a permanent statue of Sir Keith Park, was considered and passed on Thursday, 7th May 2009, by Westminster City Council Planning Committee. The permanent bronze statue of Sir Keith Park will grace a new Plinth in Waterloo Place; the unveiling will be a principal part of the RAF's celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and will take place on 15th September 2010.

The 9ft (3m) bronze statue that is to be installed in Waterloo Place is currently under construction at the 'Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry.' For further information on the 'Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry' please click on the following link:
www.bronzeage.co.uk

Thank you for your continued support. With these two statues the Campaign aims to honour Sir Keith Park and offer a small memorial to recognise the contribution of Sir Keith Park and all those that served with him in the Battle of Britain.