Nigel Wilder, a Parishioner of All Saints Church has entered a competition to create a new iconic landmark for the new Ebbsfleet international station as advertised in an article in the Gravesend and Dartford Messenger. Nigel's full competition entry can be downloaded here: Ebbsfleet Landmark Project.pdf

Nigel gives a little of his background to accompany his competition entry "I am a Kentish man by birth and come from a family with both rural and urban connections to the Kent Thameside and Medway Gateway areas. I was privately educated and have lived in the Gravesend / Rochester Locale for most of my life. I am aware of the impact on the social scene of the transport industry in Kent, past and present. I was employed in the shipping industry for many years and have a knowledge of the international scene as well as of the local activities of the barge companies that served the area surrounding the preferred location. I also have close connections in London, as a freeman of the City of London and a past president of the Aldgate Ward Club. I have a strong interest in art and a good artistic temperament which together with my depth of local knowledge of the transport industry will be an asset in producing an acceptable submission for your panel to consider".

We wish him all the very best of luck in the competition.

The Article that appeared in the Gravesend and Dartford Messenger 1^st July 2007.

Could Ebbsfleet get an Angel of the South?

A competition has been launched to create a new iconic landmark for the new Ebbsfleet international station and Ebbsfleet valley. It is hoped the £2 million figure will have the same level of prestige as Gateshead’s Angel of the North and be visible from Dartford’s Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The worldwide contest aims to create a structure that will help to pinpoint publicly one of the largest regeneration areas in Europe. The competition was launched by London and Continental Railways, Eurostar and the valley’s developers Land Securities.

A Eurostar spokesman said the structure doesn’t have to be like the Angel of the North but it needs to have the same resonance and iconic status.

Robyn Pyle, head of urban community development at Land Securities, said, It will be a focal point, indicative of the culturally rich and diverse lifestyles we want to support.  

Resonance

The Company has allocated a site for the new landmark near to its Springhead Park residential development. The site is one of the highest in the area, overlooking and clearly visible from both the A2 and the station. The judging panel will include experts from leading arts organisations in both the public and private sectors. A shortlist of internationally recognised artists is being invited to submit proposals. Their names are not being disclosed at present. Local residents will have the chance to view four shortlisted proposals before the end of the year. The winner is due to be chosen by spring 2008 and the landmark will be completed before high speed domestic rail services begin in Kent in 2009. Land Securities has committed more that £1 million towards the landmark. Futurecity will seek match funding for another £1 million.