'It's a shocking waste': Colchester locals blast council plan to erect an elephant sculpture costing £100,000 in the old Roman town Councillors in Colchester want to put up a £100,000 sculpture of an elephant Locals fear it will be a huge waste of money and have voiced their concerns 25ft tall sculpture, fitted with 52 LED lights, will sit on a roundabout in the townBy Andrew Levy For The Daily Mail Published: 01:25 GMT, 1 March 2019 | Updated: 01:26 GMT, 1 March 2019 Viewcomments The first elephants to be seen in Britain must have made quite an impression as they arrived with the all-conquering Roman emperor Claudius. But the same can’t be said of an attempt to mark that historic moment 2,000 years ago. Councillors in Colchester – once the important Roman town of Camulodunum – want to put up a £100,000 sculpture of one of the animals. However, many locals fear it will be a huge waste of money and have voiced their concerns on social media. The £100,000 elephant sculpture planned for Albert roundabout, in Colchester, Essex Andy Bugg called it ‘a shocking waste’ and Sharon Gusterson tweeted: ‘I’m sick of this lunatic council making expensive, ridiculous, disastrous decisions.’ The town’s Conservative MP, Will Quince, also attacked the plan, calling it ‘unjustifiable’. The 25ft tall sculpture, fitted with 52 LED lights, will sit on a roundabout in the town. Its fate was being decided last night at a meeting of the borough’s planning committee. A council spokesman said: ‘The design is inspired by tales of Claudius’s dramatic arrival into Colchester with a herd of elephants to celebrate the victory of the Roman invasion in 43AD.’ However, many locals fear it will be a huge waste of money and have voiced their concerns on social media Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility