Press Release: 20th April 2012Stag Sculpture Unveiled at Lomondgate DevelopmentA majestic stag designed by internationally renowned sculptor Andy Scott has been erected at the entrance to Lomondgate Business Park and Lomondgate Services this week. The six metre high sculpture, weighing two tons, towers over the Park which will offer 200,000 sq ft of office space accommodating potentially over 1,000 people when complete. The Business Park is a key part of the £100m Lomondgate development, a thriving new community in Dumbarton with 338 private homes being built on site and a Premier Inn with Brewers’ Fayre family pub/restaurant and Scotland’s first drive-thru Costa Coffee already open for business. It also home to BBC’s River City studios and Aggreko’s new £22m manufacturing plant and office facility. The stag, which took months of painstaking work to design and build, takes pride of place at the roundabout, providing access to Lomondgate Services and the Business Park which will offer a wide range of offices along with support facilities. To be illuminated by spotlights at night, the stag appears to be standing in water with its reflection underneath, linking the Business Park to the nearby River Leven, Firth of Clyde and Loch Lomond. The stag structure, which is made out of around 2km of steel chopped up into thousands of pieces and welded together, is set on a raised plinth and integrated within the landscaping of the roundabout. Best known for his work such as the Heavy Horse on the M8 and Arria near Cumbernauld, artist Andy said that he took inspiration from the surrounding area when creating the stag. He said: “Loch Lomond is a place of astounding natural beauty and I wanted to design a sculpture that featured some of the Scottish wildlife found there. The stag really spoke for itself as it is such a strong iconic Scottish image. “The real challenge of the design was to portray the stag’s reflection in the water, which was something new for me and took quite a bit of work but I am really happy with how it has turned out.” “In heraldry a stag is a symbol of regeneration and growth which is very fitting for a commercial development which is being built on land which has lain empty for years and is now being transformed into a state-of-the-art business park and roadside services area designed to bring new UK and international companies to the area along with providing much needed accommodation for local business. “We hope the stag will become a real local landmark and talking point for the thousands of motorists when they drive towards the Lomondgate roundabout or arrive at the development.” David Hastings, Chief Executive of Strathleven Regeneration C.I.C, added: “In these times of austerity it’s great to see the private sector investing in public art in West Dunbartonshire, especially as part of the Walker Group’s wider multi-million pound investment in the Lomondgate regeneration project.” The £100m Lomondgate project was launched in 2007 by Strathleven Regeneration C.I.C, a public-private partnership established with the support of West Dunbartonshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and Diageo. SRC formed a partnership with developer Walker Group to help deliver its plans for a thriving new community on the site providing new homes, a new business location and destination services on the A82 at a gateway to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. So far more than £14m has been invested by Walker Group into the development, which includes significant local road and infrastructure improvements, including the construction of the new Lomondgate roundabout leading into the business park and the other main elements of the project. Lomondgate is fast becoming a Scottish success story providing an attractive proposition for businesses and home owners alike. Further information on Lomondgate is available from www.lomondgate.com |
