Council let sculpture to be taken down to avoid confrontation

LONDON: A local authority did not stop the public from taking down a ‘racist’ sculpture in order to avoid confrontation, as local residents took it upon themselves to ‘save’ the controversial figure.

Thousands of people signed a petition demanding the removal of a caricature of a black man above the 18th century Greenman pub sign in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, describing it as ‘racist’.

Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) said on Monday it would remove the sign with “immediate effect” but when the head was taken down on Monday evening, locals said they had done so to protect it. Around 150 people gathered outside the pub with ladders to take the sculpture down.

DDDC said in a statement that a councillor did not object when the group decided to remove the figure for themselves in a bid to avoid confrontation.

The statement read: “We were made aware last night [Monday] by one of our own Ashbourne councillors that approximately 150 locals had gathered by the The Green Man & Black’s Head sign in the town.

“The councillor was able to speak to the group and explain our position — that we needed to take urgent action to take down the head figure temporarily in the interests of public safety ahead of a consultation.

“The group, who had ladders, then decided they would remove the figure themselves for safe keeping and, not wanting to create a confrontation, in the circumstances we did not object.”

Police were called to St John Street on Monday night at around 9pm and remained at the scene for two hours. A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said: “Officers were in attendance from 9pm until 11pm and were there to monitor the situation and ensure there were no breaches of the peace. There were no arrests.”

The Grade II-listed pub sign, which arches over St John Street, depicted the face of a black man, which one campaigner said resembled a golliwog, a 19th-century rag doll which is now largely considered racist.

A second petition was launched by 17-year-old Ashbourne resident Shaun Redfern to stop the figure from being permanently removed. His father, Mark Redfern, said the head was “in the hands of the man who will restore [it]”.

He added: “He is a long-standing member of the community, everyone in Ashbourne knows him, the local councillors were also there too.”