Trolley art project plea

The supermarket trolley artwork was shelved

Council officials have been urged to resurrect a plan for a roadside monument in the shape of a giant shopping trolley.

An art consultancy group said North Lanarkshire Council should reconsider building the artwork, which was planned for the M8 motorway between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Art in Partnership, which specialises in innovative outdoor work such as the M8 Art Project, helped win lottery cash for the Sentinel Project.

The artist feels a bit let down that the project never took off

Robert Breen, art consultant

Although four artworks were built on roads in Coatbridge and Airdrie, "Shopping the Stars", by Dutch artist John Kormeling, was abandoned after plans for expansion on the A8 road.

But the art consultancy group said the massive model of the trolley was the key piece in a five-part artwork and has called on council bosses to build it.

Executive director Robert Breen said: "The project was really five pieces. The keynote piece was supposed to be at the Shorehead junction.

"The money is sitting there. We sent a lottery application which was successful and would have covered much of the subject.

"The council needed to raise a wee bit more.

Major art works

"They may have formally given it up now. The artist feels a bit let down that the project never took off."

The project was commissioned by Monkland District Council in 1995 and was continued by North Lanarkshire Council after local authority reorganisation in 1996.

It aimed to leave a "trail" of artworks from the M8 Shawhead Interchange at Coatbridge to the main town centres of Airdrie and Coatbridge, said Mr Breen.

Four pieces - two in Coatbridge and two in Airdrie - were created by different artists and are sited by major road arteries into the area or at the centre of roundabouts.

'Thorn in the side'

Mr Breen said Monklands Council had been keen to use artworks as a way of alleviating the problem of empty "desert island" roundabouts and helping motorists with orientation.

He said: "The idea was that it would be visible from the motorway and let people know that they were at the junction for turning off the M8.

Until details of this have been finalised and we know how much land these works will require it is not possible to identify an appropriate site for the final piece

Jim McGuinness, North Lanarkshire Council

"We looked at a number of sites in the area at the time but nothing was finalised."

North Lanarkshire Council insisted it was continuing to work closely with the Scottish Arts Council to finish the project.

Jim McGuinness, head of community resources, said: "The location of the fifth piece of artwork has been a thorn in the side of this project for a very long time.

"There are a number of proposals currently under discussion in relation to the upgrading of the Shawhead area - the original site - including major roadworks.

"Until details of this have been finalised and we know how much land these works will require it is not possible to identify an appropriate site for the final piece."

Art in Partnership, which is also the design consultancy for the interior of the new Scottish Parliament building, has run the M8 Art Project since 1992.

Included among the specially constructed landmarks on the motorway are three giant heads made out of red pipes at the Eurocentral Exchange at Mossend and a 70ft silver horn at Polkemmet Country Park.