Cartoonist's Circus 'to go-ahead'

The site is near an office where the Express cartoonist worked for years

A £400,000 scheme to revamp an area of Ipswich town centre associated with cartoonist Carl Giles is set to be given final approval next week.

The plan for what will become Giles Circus, where a statue of the artist's creations stands, includes King Street, Lion Street and Princes Street.

The main go-ahead was given by Ipswich Borough Council earlier this year.

But the public have been consulted over whether kerbs should be raised to aid those with sight problems.

The council won funding from Haven Gateway, a government business agency, for the project - which is sited near an office where the late Daily Express cartoonist Giles worked for many years.

Raised kerbs

The project will see the whole area repaved with more of the area for pedestrians only.

Carl Giles died in 1995 at the age of 78

The project will see the Giles Statue raised to a more prominent location, possibly with seating nearby.

Next week councillors are expected to back the need for pavement kerbs to be raised, to help blind people with guide dogs, and give the final approval.

Work on the scheme is expected to start in February next year.

Giles, who worked for the Daily Express and Sunday Express from 1943 to 1991, lived just outside Ipswich.

Giles' work had a large influence on the style of British cartoonists.