Member Article

It's 'now or never' for Andy Capp tribute

Residents of North Hartlepool are being asked if they would like to see a statue erected to commemorate cartoon strip character Andy Capp, who was created by Hartlepool man Reg Smythe. The North Hartlepool Partnership, which is using money from regional development agency One NorthEast to regenerate the Headland, is delivering consultation leaflets to every house in the area. The leaflets aim to gauge residents’ support for the statue, which would cost about £20,000, would be five feet high and made of bronze. Councillor John Marshall, Chair of the North Hartlepool Partnership, said: “There has been a lot of debate in the past about whether there should be an Andy Capp statue on the Headland. “The North Hartlepool Partnership is prepared to explore such a scheme, but only if there is clear support for it among local residents. “Since the Partnership comes to the end of its life next March, as far as we are concerned this really is the last opportunity for something to be done, so I would strongly urge all residents to have their say by completing and returning the consultation leaflets.“If there is clear backing for a statue, the Partnership will write to the Daily Mirror - in which the Andy Capp cartoons were first featured in 1957 and where they still appear - asking if the newspaper would be willing to contribute to the cost of the project. The sculpture would be created by Shropshire artist Jane Robbins, who created a small-scale plasticine rough model when the idea of an Andy Capp statue was discussed several years ago by the then Headland Town Council.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .