Roaring Row

The seaside town of Cullen in Scotland is pretty enough .....

Cullen In Scotland

Is a small seaside and picturesque port village in Scotland. Nothing much happens there is news worthy and its main income is from tourists in the summer.

Its also the home of the Cullen Antiques Centre owned by dealer John Webb. in May 2020 he became the owner or caretaker of a large psychedelic Tyrannosaurus dinosaur head, art installation created by artist Jake Westlake, which lights up at night and which he placed on the roof of the antiques centre to “put a smile on peoples faces.”

Cullen Dinosaur

Well maybe, but for everyone who smiled, another frowned and complaints to the local Moray council  flooded in. “Quirky” and “fun” to some, the complainants have branded it ”tacky” or even a “blight on the landscape” and “not in keeping” with the surrounding architecture. So in March 2023 - 10 months after he placed the installation on the roof, the council decided retrospectively that it required planning permission.

Residents had until mid April 2023 to voice their views before the council decides if the dinosaur should be taken down .... this caused both the supporters and detractors of 'Rex', to send in their views. More than 30 objections to its continued existence on the roof were quickly lodged. While a supporter summed up the main argument for its continuation on the roof when they told planning bosses: “The dinosaur is a bit of fun and my children love to see it when we go through Cullen. As Cullen is mainly a tourist attraction the dinosaur is part of the charm.”

However Mr Webb professed complete bafflement as to why after 10 months, he now needed planning consent, as he said the dinosaur was only up there until it sells for “something around £10,000”. “I’ve said to the council from day one that it’s not permanent. There’s a lot of over-bureaucracy.”

 A spokesman for Moray Council, which was first made aware of the T Rex in May, 2022, said: “Dinosaur heads on a roof are unusual but where operational development occurs these require planning permission.”

Unusually I am able to tell you if its still up on the roof or not .... I held back this post to be able to include the outcome, but in early July 2023, just about 3 months after the consultation period ended, the council announced that planning officials had refused the application. The application attracted 39 objections and 31 supporting comments. This was so divisive, that Moray council took three months of deliberation, before planning officers decided to refuse the application.

Moray Council said: “The dinosaur head was considered in the context of both national and local planning policies and its impact in a conservation area and was refused as it did not comply with those policies.”

Therefore, it was said that it had to be removed .... unless Mr Webb appealed .... but, then in a reversal on the 14th of December 2023 members of Moray Council local review body gave it a roar of approval by voting five to three in favour of keeping the structure in place. But in a further twist, by February 2024 it was being reported that the property upon which the Dinosaur head was placed was being sold on behalf of Scottish Fire & Rescue Service who owned it, with a guide price of £120,000 ... the dino head doesn't come with the property (but could be bought separately).