SKYLON Park – Hereford’s new Enterprise Zone in Rotherwas – is in danger of not having a ‘skylon’.
Work stated in September last year on the site, which will be home to around 50 defence and engineering businesses.
But the iconic, cigar-shaped centrepiece that gives the park its name may never make it off the architect’s drawings.
“It is iconic, and it has a historic association with Hereford,” said programme manager Nick Webster.
“But the council are not looking to bankroll that kind of project at the moment.
“We would like some kind of representation on the site, but we would probably have to look to sponsorship for it by a private company.”
In 1951 it was Hereford’s Painter Brother who constructed the original skylon, a 90-metre-high steel structure that formed the focal point of the Festival of Britain in London.
In a nod to Hereford’s engineering past, the Enterprise Zone adopted the moniker and initial drawings feature a similar design pictured at the heart of the site.
However with the focus now on attracting businesses to the park – several firms are already up and running – Hereford’s skyline may miss out on its own skylon.
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