Rotary Club tribute to Gracie Fields could be complete by Spring 2016

Global icon: Gracie Fields in 1934

Rotary Club of Rochdale East has been working with Rochdale Council to arrange for the funding, design and commissioning of a tribute to Gracie Fields.

This project has been a long term dream of Rochdale East Past President Donald Stewart and he has been involved at each stage of the project.

Last year the club gained the support of the Rochdale Township Committee for a plinth to Gracie and the allocation of a grant.

Councillor Richard Farnell, the leader of Rochdale Council, supported the idea but expressed the wish for a more substantial tribute.

Frank Hauxwell, Rotary Club of Rochdale East, said: “We applied for and were successful in obtaining a grant from GrantScape of £40,000, which will be paid out, subject to planning permission, for the statue being allowed.

"Together with monies paid by other entities who make social fund payments for construction in the town, there is now sufficient funds for the project to go forward and we have agreed that the procurement of the statue will be taken on by the Council officers to ensure compliance with the complex planning and procurement regulations for such work.

“A tender document is being prepared and will go out shortly.

“The Rotary Club of Rochdale East will work alongside the Council officers, Cllr Janet Emsley, Cabinet Holder for Culture and Tourism, and Seb Lassandro who chairs the Dame Gracie Fields Appreciation Society, in the selection of the sculptor and design of the statue and its eventual location in the Town Centre.

“It is hoped to complete the project by Spring 2016 and to integrate it as closely as possible with the opening of the River in the Butts area of the Town Centre.”