12:00pm Monday 22nd March 2010
By Emma Palmer
ELDERLY embroiderers have got the needle with Basildon Council after a 41-year-old piece of wall art was dumped to free up storage space.
The artistry, affectionately dubbed the Basildon Tapestry, was painstakingly created in 1969 to mark the 20th anniversary of Basildon New Town.
For decades, the six-foot long tapestry graced the foyer of the old Basildon Council offices, in Fodderwick, before it was taken down when the new council building was built in St Martin’s Square, in the late 1980s.
Last month, Ivy McFarlane, 80, of Methersgate, Basildon, who was part of the project, began trying to track down the whereabouts of the missing piece.
She was assured it was hanging in an executive’s office at the Basildon Centre. But when it was nowhere to be seen, she contacted councillor Pat Rackley, who wrote to council chiefs several times to demand a firm answer.
Yesterday, bosses apologised and admitted it had been “disposed of”.
Mrs Rackley, who serves St Martin’s ward, said: “I am disgusted.
“I am outraged I had to hear through the Echo it had been lost.”
The project was called “the Fabric of Our Lives” and was a patchwork tapestry featuring hand-embroidered pictures of local landmarks, including Gloucester Park and St Nicholas Church.
A community group of at least six women spent many hours making the tapestry together as part of celebrations for the town’s anniversary.
Mrs McFarlane stormed: “I don’t understand why they couldn’t have just given it back to us if they didn’t want it any more. This is very upsetting. I know the other women who took part in its creation will be upset as well.”
Scott Logan, head of customer services at the council, said: “In 2008, Basildon Council centralised 90 per cent of its staff into the Basildon Centre. The tapestry was placed in storage during this work.
“During a follow-up exercise to free storage space within the building, it appears the tapestry was inadvertently disposed of.
“We are very sorry to have lost the tapestry, and in particular would like to apologise for any upset this has caused.”
l The women don’t have a photograph of the tapestry, as it was so long ago. They would love to hear from anyone who does. Call the newsdesk on 01268 469308 if you can help.
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