Final touches were being made last month to the canopied and sculptured seats forming a public art installation at Badbury Heights, the housing estate built by Persimmon on the northern edge of Blandford.

The canopied benches have been designed and created by Tim Ward of Circling the Square following his research amongst various local people into the history of Blandford and the site on which the estate has been constructed. There are references in the artwork not only to the rebuilding of the town after the fire of 1731, but also to the Pimperne maze and use of the area by Sir Alan Cobham.

The installation has been made possible through a developer contribution of £52,000 from Persimmon, which needed to be spent by the end of 2020 or returned to the developers.

The contribution to public art on the estate was a condition of planning approval for the development when it was given many years ago. Together with five benches provided on the estate the installation has cost £51,000, and the balance of the S106 contribution has been allocated by Blandford Town Council towards any future public art improvement and maintenance works at Badbury Heights.

Work originally scheduled for earlier this year was delayed by pandemic restrictions, but should by now be complete. Initial proposals for it to be sited on a grassed area in the middle of the estate were resisted by residents, and the location changed to between Shaftesbury Lane and Warrington Walk, where it can also be seen by the wider public.

Close-ups of the benches showing the Blandford Races, the livestock market, the Saxon and Roman eras, lace making and the Great Fire

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