At last, the Illegally erected Statue in Bristol City Centre has been removed. However, Bristol City council have publicly said that the bill to remove the Statue will cost ‘thousands’ of pounds.
On Thursday, Contractors removed the statue of Local Black Lives Matter activist, Jen Reid, called ‘a surge of power’
The statue formally stood on the plinth that was cleared by BLM protestors on June 7th.
It is claimed to have been erected illicitly by Mtec housing Ltd, a cargo and freight company, who posted a video of the statue being erected on their social media page claiming that they were ‘pleased to be apart of this installation’
Some customers are calling for a boycott.
Labour MP Diana Abbot, however, argued that the statue should have remained there until a permanent replacement was decided on.
https://www.facebook.com/mtecwarehousingltd/videos/568762807147768/
Mayor Marvin Rees said: “It cost us money to take this down. The money we spent taking the statue down actually comes from accounts that we spend on adult social care and children’s services” and goes on to explain how, because of COVID-19, ‘We’ve lost revenue and we’ve had increased costs’
A representative from Bristol City Council went on to say “We are waiting on a final quote from the contractors and police, but it is likely to run into the thousands.
The artist Quinn, from London, has not offered to contribute to the cost of removal as of yet. It is not yet clear if a mandatory contribution can be enforced.
