Plans for Compo statue revived

May 14 2003 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

PLANS to erect a statue of Last of The Summer Wine star Bill Owen in Holmfirth have been revived.

Proposals to build a bronze Compo in the main street were drawn up by the Holme Valley Business Association.

Members hope to get the statue of the TV comedy series star made for far less than the first tribute suggested two years ago. Then, the cost was put at £30,000.

Royston Rogers, a member of the business association, said the price tag for the work of Nottingham artist Gordon Brown had been too high.

"We are now looking to use another artist who may not charge anything like that," he said.

A statue commemorating the actor was first suggested in 2000. Owen died in 1999 at the age of 85.

Artists' impressions of the finished work are expected to be ready in the next couple of weeks. The statue will stand in the King's Head Gardens, along Huddersfield Road in the town centre.

It will be privately funded and a group of trustees is to be appointed to manage any donations.

Mr Rogers said it would be a fitting memorial to an actor and his creation, who put Holmfirth on the global map. Tourists flock to the town and the series is enjoyed by viewers in Australia and the USA.

Owen dubbed himself Holmfirth's adopted son and his rascally character lay at the heart of the world's longest- running comedy.

Mr Rogers expected opposition to the scheme, saying: "Some will be against anything."

While Owen's son, Tom, has backed previous campaigns to build a statue of his father, his widow, Kathie, has criticised such plans.