The chair of Harrogate International Partnerships has called for damaged statues in the town’s Valley Gardens to be removed.

Vandals ripped out chunks of wood from the Kiwi bird and the carved Maori bench in the New Zealand garden section of Valley Gardens last year.

Dennis Richards, chair of the HIP, a charity that supports twinning groups, told the Stray Ferret the sculptures needed to be removed in order for the charity to come up with proposals to replace them.

The section of Valley Gardens commemorates Harrogate’s twinning with Wellington and the country’s airmen being stationed in the town during World War Two.

However, Mr Richards said the council needed to remove the statues. It follows concern about the condition of them ahead of a visit to Wellington by the HIP.

He said:

“All we are asking for is the wooden statues to be removed forthwith. That is what is causing this disconnect.”

Mr Richard added that once the structures are removed, the HIP will put forward proposals with what could replace them.

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Last week, Kate Spencer, the HIP’s representative who has travelled to New Zealand as part of the twinning arrangement, raised concern that the conditions “dishonoured” the airmen commemorated in the gardens.

Valley Gardens development plan

Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement previously that the sculptures had “already started to rot independent of any vandalism that has taken place”.

It added:

“We would welcome any support or fundraising ideas from Harrogate International Partnership for the replacement of these with something more sustainable and robust for the location.

“Equally if there is anyone who would like to help with maintenance of the space we would be happy to arrange volunteering sessions in conjunctions with our own team or the Friends of Valley Gardens who provide fantastic support in maintaining this space.

“More widely we are in the process of agreeing a Valley Gardens development plan to continue to improve these spaces over the coming years.”

The garden dates back to 1954 and chainsaw sculptor Mick Burns carved the Marlin, Kiwi, and bench in 2010.