SIX FOOT DANCING HARE UNVEILED AT NEW WATTON COMMUNITY

Residents at a new community in Watton will now be greeted by a six-foot high dancing hare as they approach their homes – after a new public artwork was unveiled to celebrate the completion of the new development.

Abel Homes, which is based at the Neaton Business Park in the town, commissioned the artwork as part of its ongoing public art programme, which sees a new piece of art commissioned from a local artist at each of the sites where it builds new homes.

The dancing hare was made by the Holkham Forge Partnership, which won a competition to come up with a hare-themed piece to be placed at the firm’s Hare’s Green site, situated on the edge of Watton Green, where the firm has built 98 energy-efficient new family homes.

Residents from the new community got together to watch the hare being unveiled on a piece of public green space at the entrance to the development by local councillor Tina Kiddell and Tony Abel, chairman of Abel Homes.

The hare is the twelfth piece of public artwork to be commissioned by the house builder, with a thirteenth due to be unveiled at a site in Bawdeswell later this year.

Tony Abel said, “This is the third time we have worked with the Holkham Forge Partnership, after they created pieces for sites in Swaffham and Little Melton.  The dancing hare is striking, light-hearted and attractive, and will lend a sense of identity to this new community, as well as a focal point to stop and chat.

“As a locally-based company, it is important for us to support the county’s artistic community, which is why once again we have commissioned a group of Norfolk artists to create our latest artwork.

“The idea of these public artworks is to create a modern-day ‘village sign’, a focal point which can give the new community a sense of identity and act as its centrepiece.”

In 2008 Abel Homes made a commitment to commission a piece of public artwork from a local artist for each of the sites where it builds new homes.