Council 'vandals' turf up some of Blackpool's Comedy Carpet

The artist behind Blackpool’s Comedy Carpet has branded the local council ‘vandals’ after removing vital parts of his artwork.

The £2.6million patchwork of names and quotes from comedy history across the seafront promenade, was unveiled to great fanfare by Ken Dodd back in October.

But less than six months later, Blackpool council has removed a swathe of the tourist attraction, including the stone marking Dodd’s visit and the names of more than 100 comedians. Slabs were broken as workmen removed them.

The authority have cited health and safety concerns for removing the panels, claiming they were too close to tram tracks. The say visitors who step back to gaze at the jokes and names on the floor were in danger of stepping into the path of the vehicles.

But artist Gordon Young said: ‘I cannot believe the council has done this. Not only have they ruined my artwork and removed the names of so many comedians whose work I wanted to celebrate, but they have even destroyed the dedication stone.

‘It was a huge honour to have Ken Dodd unveil the Comedy Carpet. I am gobsmacked that the council should treat him so shabbily.’

Young is especially furious at the damage inflicted during the work, saying: ‘It is compete nonsense that the slabs can not be removed without damaging them.

Designer Andy Altmann added: ‘I feel the council has been unbelievably ignorant, arrogant and ungrateful to all the people involved

‘The Comedy Carpet is world class piece of public art. The council has treated us and it shamefully. Their actions have made me feel physically sick. I still can't quite believe what they have done.’

Among the comics to have been wiped from the face of the artwork are Jerry LewisKeith Allen, Craig Hill, Shappi Khorsandi, Sarah Millican and Outnumbered’s young stars Ramona Marquez and Daniel Roche.

The issue of the proximity of the tram tracks was raised last summer, while the plans were still being worked on and could have been changed relatively cheaply, but Young says they were given the go-ahead to build the Carpet as planned anyway.

Blackpool Council told Chortle: ‘Sadly for safety reasons we have had to remove five slabs that were placed far too close to the tram track when they were laid.

‘The artist has been made fully aware of our concerns on many occasions and there have been extensive conversations with the Comedy Carpet Company that was responsible for installing the artwork.

‘After observing how visitors interact with the carpet, many are seen to look down while reading the phrases and frequently step back to look at the comments. Regretfully if a visitor to the carpet was to step back off they very end of the carpet in to the line of an oncoming tram then this could potentially be very dangerous.

‘Therefore with regret the Council has been left with no choice but to remove the five slabs - no catch phrases have been removed as the slabs contained the credit for the artist and the council in commissioning the work.

‘The Comedy Carpet Company quoted £50,000 for removing the slabs and replacing them elsewhere. Sadly this was money that was not available to the council and we have had to undertake the work ourselves. Every care was taken in removing the slabs, but unfortunately they did not remain intact when removing them.’

The Comedy Carpet Company dispute the £50,000 figure – saying they quoted for two options, both at less than £4,000

Young and Altmann – who are about to travel to Japan to collect the prestigious Tokyo Grand Prix Design Award – say they can remake the damaged slabs, and are calling on the council to reinstate them.

The Carpet, which celebrates the contribution to comedy of over 1,000 writers and performers, recently became an impromptu memorial to the late Frank Carson with people laying floral tributes on his catchphrase: ‘It’s the way I tell em.’

Published: 20 Mar 2012