ABOUT 100 people attended the unveiling of a locally-made, striking new sculpture which now forms the centrepiece of Haworth Central Park’s Memory Garden.

They gathered in the garden for the unveiling yesterday, which was conducted by Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council chairman Councillor Gary Swallow and local artist Craig Dyson.

The stainless steel artwork sculpture, made by Mr Dyson, is called “The Meet” and represents a wing.

It was commissioned by the Friends of Haworth Park group, and made possible thanks to a grant from Haworth, Cross Roads & Stanbury Parish Council’s participatory budgeting scheme.

The sculpture is over three metres tall and has been designed so engraved padlocks can be fitted to its lower levels in memory of loved ones.

As the wing becomes full, it is planned for the padlocks to be removed and joined together to create smaller artworks within the garden, to make space for future memories.

A spokesman for the park’s Friends said: “Environmentalists had been concerned that members of the public had placed seats and inappropriate planting on the moors above Haworth in remembrance of loved ones.

“So the Friends of Haworth Park, with Bradford Council’s Parks & Landscapes Department, decided to create a memory garden in the park, to include a way for people to leave a small memorial to remember loved ones.

“The wish became a reality, following a generous grant from the parish council, enabling the Friends to commission international sculptor Craig Dyson to create an artwork as the centrepiece for the Memory Garden Project.”

Revealing the thinking behind his sculpture, Mr Dyson, who lives in Haworth, said: “The name ‘The Meet’ suggests a collection of memories and moments coming together to create a communal artwork. The sculpture took over one year to create and it represents a wing, both angelic and bird like. It suggests hope, freedom and remembrance in its raw form but is yet unfinished. It requires the public’s involvement and attachment of padlocks to represent an individual memory or moment.

“It has been fabricated from half a ton of marine-grade stainless steel. This sculpture is built to last, to provide a facility to meet and share moments for generations to come.”

One of Mr Dyson’s earlier works, the Peoples 2p Ball, has previously been erected elsewhere in Haworth Central Park to mark the Tour de France visiting the village.

The Memory Garden is still being developed, with the first seats now in place and further landscaping planned.

Mr Dyson’s other recent works include The Baby of the North in Bradford city centre.

It was commissioned at a cost of £15,000 and named in a nod to Sir Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North in Gateshead. When it was installed, the artwork prompted a mixed reaction, with Mr Dyson acknowledging at the time that it had divided opinion, saying it was “definitely ‘Marmite’ and adding: “It is a giant baby and it is there to turn heads. It has clearly got a lot of debate going.”