Planner memorial agreed

Sam Malone

27 June 2008

A STATUE designed to commemorate the life and works of a former Worcester City Council worker could soon be built close to the city’s Commandery after cabinet members agreed to fund the £16,000 project.
Stuart McNidder MBE, the council’s then head of development services, died in April 2006 following a brave battle against cancer aged 62.
Mr McNidder is widely acknowledged as one of the major influences behind Worcester’s award winning Warndon Villages, constructed during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
After his death the council agreed to set up a memorial fund in his memory with the purpose of commissioning a contemporary piece of art which would be placed in the heart of the city centre. The fund raised £3,450 and at the time the city council added £5,000.
A steering group was also set up by the former Mayor of Worcester, councillor Ian Imray, which included Mr McNidder’s son Simon McNidder - it was tasked with developing ideas which would be appropriate for both the city and the memory of Mr McNidder.
At a council cabinet meeting on Monday night (June 23), members agreed to use approximately £7,500 which was carried over from last year’s Streetpride budget - a scheme aimed at enhancing the appearance of the city’s streets - to make up the estimated cost of the proposed statue.
Barry Mackenzie-Williams, the council’s deputy leader, said: “Stuart was the big cheese of planning and renaissance for 15-20 years and his fingerprints are all over the modern city of Worcester.
“The statue will commemorate his interest in the history of Worcester and his involvement with all the improvements in the area. All too frequently we ignore the real power forces who operate at a local level and I believe that this is an opportunity to ensure that one of those people has a permanent memorial in a city to which he devoted much of his life to.”
Providing planning permission is granted, the statue will be designed and built by Hereford based blacksmith, Lawrence Walker, whose work - which includes the the gates of the City Arcade - Mr McNidder was said to have particularly appreciated. It will represent an aspect of the Civil War and will be positioned on the walls of the Sidbury canal bridge.

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