MOTORISTS and pedestrians may be pie-eyed in Denby Dale over the next few weeks.
Stone sculptures on the theme of the world-famous Denby Dale Pie are now sitting proudly on a traffic island in the village, thanks to public art scheme.
The artwork, produced as part of a £30,000 project, aims to improve the look of the traffic island at the junction of Wakefield Road and Cumberworth Lane in Denby Dale.
Hepworth artist Mike Disley was appointed to work alongside Kirklees Council’s arts agency Loca, landscape architects and highways engineers to design the scheme of improvements.
The centrepiece is an eye-catching sculpture based on the renowned pies of Denby Dale.
The scheme also includes new stone paving featuring decorative stone tiles hand-carved by pupils from Denby First School, Gilthwaites First School and Scissett Middle School.
There are also new planting beds which also include space for the village Christmas tree.
The work was funded from the council’s regeneration budget and finishes off a wider scheme of features for Denby Dale village centre. This also included new village map boards, decorative street lighting, railing improvements and shopfront improvements for local businesses.
A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said: “The scheme was devised following consultation with the public and close involvement with ward councillors.
The public consultation identified a need for a focal point for the village, public art and some recognition of the history of the Denby Dale pies.
“The traffic island, in the heart of the village, was felt to be the ideal location for this,’’ said the spokeswoman.
The first recorded large-scale pie making in the village was in 1788, to celebrate the recovery of King George III from a major illness.
Since then nine other pies have been baked in the village to coincide with special events and raise money for local charities.
The Victory Pie was made in 1815 to celebrate the triumph of the Duke of Wellington over Napoleon Boneparte at the Battle of Waterloo.
The pie was said to contain two sheep, 20 fowls and 7lbs of flour for the crust.
More recently, in 2000, the village made a record-breaking pie which was 40ft long and weighed in at a mighty 10 tonnes.
