A ‘PEACE statue’ could be installed in Wrexham’s Acton Park if planning consent is granted.

Wrexham Council’s planning department has received an application from Oneness-Home Peace Run, the world’s longest global relay organisation, to gift the installation of the statue at the park.

Gifts from the Peace Run are funded by individual supporters of it. For this application, the main donors are John and Tamsin Evans, the Peace Run Coordinators in Wales.

A supporting statement submitted with the planning documents explains the story behind the statue: “The Oneness-Home Peace Run wishes to donate a Peace Statue to Wrexham.

“The site chosen is within Acton Park, a well-established and beautiful area for recreation and peaceful re-charging within the city.

“When the Peace Run visits a community, an Olympic-style peace torch is passed from hand to hand, giving those present the opportunity to make a private wish for peace.

“The statue offers the same opportunity on a permanent basis, but with a bronze torch instead of the flaming original. It is therefore intended to be interactive and a bilingual explanatory information board would be positioned adjacent to the site.

“There is no site-specific style for information boards in Acton Park, so we are proposing one that has been tried and tested at other such sites.”

The supporting statement explains that the Peace Run has offered various gifts to the communities it visits around the world. In Wales, it has so far donated four peace statues.

The first was unveiled in 2012 by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, and stands in Cardiff Bay, on the waterfront between the Senedd and the Norwegian Church.

According to the applicants, the location for the proposed Wrexham statue has been chosen after consultation with community representatives.

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They add: “The Run would very much like to include a statue in the north-east of the country as part of this peace initiative. Wrexham is an exciting place of inspiration and aspiration, with its newly bestowed city status, cultural credentials and its growing importance within Welsh life.

“The proposed site within Acton Park has been chosen in consultation with local community representatives. It is close to a vantage point beside the lake, which appears already to be something of a hub for families and dog walkers to pass the time of day.

“In the area, there are already established various benches, areas for angling, and information boards about the lake and the park.

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“Situated in the grassland alongside the walkway which surrounds the lake, a peace statue would blend in well with the existing recreational land use for those who find peace and beauty in nature.

“Local schools are actively encouraged to take part in projects within the park, and it has been suggested that the children might create some planting of flowers around the site over time, and which they would maintain.

“The interactive nature of the statue has proved popular with children elsewhere in Wales. Stepping stones from the lakeside pathway to the statue were suggested by community representatives at the recent site visit.

“There is no cost to Wrexham Council associated with the erection of the peace statue. It is a gift, and its installation would be managed as a private commission by Mr and Mrs Evans.

“Whilst the Council would be asked to add the statue to its existing public liability insurance, any day-to-day maintenance would be undertaken by the Peace Run’s local representative.

“Being manufactured from bronze it requires minimal maintenance – occasional washing in slightly soapy water during dry weather and regular polishing with specialist Renaissance Wax.

“The A1 sized information board is designed to be weatherproof and vandal resistant. The layout and wording on the information board would be agreed with the Council.

“The aim is to enhance Acton Park, and Wrexham, for its residents and visitors, whilst providing ongoing interest, beauty and pride in the nation’s history of peace and international goodwill.”

Wrexham Council planners will make a decision on the application at a future date.