In celebration of Northamptons Boot & Shoe industry?

[Ian Paul]

_H8A0004-3 by Ian Wheatley, on Flickr
As some of you may be aware Northampton was once the centre of our Boot and Shoe industry. Sadly those days are long gone but the local Council in their infinite wisdom decided to commission about half a dozen of these sculptures to celebrate the fact at a cost of around £45,000, some of it funded by sponsorship from local business, the rest from the local taxpayers. Trouble is, it was all done before a couple of years ago but those were so badly vandalised that they had to be removed. All this from a council that's skint and cutting public services to the bone. We are governed by fools. Regards, Ian W.

[Trev B]

Good to hear your local council is like every other in the land - spend the money (our money) on rubbish not on necessities. Mine's just spent thousands placing plastic dinosaurs around the town - when the roads are falling apart with potholes!
Nice picture pity you lost the spires and clock tower

[colin C]

There is a local saying that if you are intelligent, ambitious, motivated and hard working, you go for a career in Industry, Health, or the Forces.

If you are not, you join the Council with the five other people it takes to do one job. Strangely, this view seems to be supported by Council Employees.

[ST-EOS]

This sort of council cash splashing isn't unique to Northampton. My local council spent something like £55,000 on twelve Christmas Snowmen statues which were dotted around town to brighten up Christmas for local children!
I'm not sure it did so, some of the statues were quickly vandalised probably by those same children whom the council were trying to engage with.