She’s gold, she’s bold and she has divided public opinion, but Margaret River’s ‘chick on a stick’ is about to face her toughest test yet – a removal order by the local shire.
She’s gold, she’s bold and she has divided public opinion, but Margaret River’s ‘chick on a stick’ is about to face her toughest test yet – a removal order by the local shire.
Entitled ‘Free as a Bird’, the three-metre tall gold statuette suspended from a 14-metre electric-blue pole has been a focal point of Laurence Wines, Wilyabrup, and indeed Caves Road, since its installation 12 months ago.
Last week, the Shire of Busselton refused retrospective planning permission for the 24-carat gold leaf-plated sculpture, calling for its removal after a review of its town planning scheme and Caves Road Visual Management Policy.
The shire referred to the work (located 60 metres within the property boundary) as an ‘entry statement’ structure and claimed it posed a negative visual impact on the Caves Road precinct.
It also called for the removal of a number of structures, including a $35,000 children’s playground, a rose garden arbour and a wooden cellar entry sign on similar grounds.
Laurance Wines owner Dianne Laurance told WA Business News she was very passionate about the sculpture and would be spending more than $200,000 in legal fees to keep it from the scrap heap.
Mrs Laurance designed the piece three years ago after seeing a similar figurine in a shop in England, and commissioned high-profile artists Charlie Smith and Joan Walsh-Smith to create it.
“It’s not a ‘structure’, it’s a piece of art,” she said.
Mrs Laurance told WA Business News she had received letters from past visitors to the winery from all over the world commending the work.
“Cars stop all the time. It’s one of the most photographed parts of the region,” she said.
Mrs Laurance’s husband and Pivot Group boss, Peter Laurance, said the sculpture had drawn significant interest and mixed reviews since its installation 12 months ago.
“The sculpture has become a destination. My property associates have told me that when they direct their valuers around the region, they use the stick as a reference point,” he said.
The dispute is not the first run-in Laurance Wines has had with the shire. The winery twice sought approval last year to build a similar yellow entry gate to its winery on private property next door.
Mrs Laurance said the last gate application, made in June 2006, had been deferred twice by council before finally being refused last week.
Busselton West-rural ward councillor Don Hanran-Smith said the shire was currently undertaking a review of its town planning scheme and believed the gate or ‘entry statement’ contravened it.
Under the Caves Road Visual Management Policy of 1999, all development must be set back a minimum of 100 metres from Caves Road unless a land owner can demonstrate a structure maintains and/or enhances the visual quality of the natural and rural landscape as viewed from the road.
Mr Hanran-Smith said he had not heard of council receiving any official complaints about the gold sculpture, in particular, but said some locals believed it created a traffic hazard on Caves Road.
The Laurance family has owned the 40 hectare property since 2001, putting 21ha of the land under vine before opening a cellar door operation in September 2006.
An appeal has been lodged with the State Administrative Tribunal, which will hear the case over June 12-13.
Busselton chief executive Andrew Macnish could not be contacted for comment.
