The bronze statue showing William Cobbett astride his horse was designed by the late Sheila Mitchell, hoping it would be major monument to Cobbett, in a public area of the town of his place of birth. A charitable organisation, the William Cobbett Statue Trust, was set up to raise funds for the project by Sheila Mitchell's husband, Charles Bone.
Planning permission was recently submitted to install the statue in the North West corner of Farnham's Gostrey Meadow. However the majority of the council's planning committee had an issue with the sculpture's finished height and size at the proposed location.
Supported by the Farnham Public Art Trust, which has assisted by undertaking planning negotiations, frustrated backers of the William Cobbett Statue will now need to go back to the drawing board to discuss alternative sites, which they fear could set the project back another five years.
