The Springs retail and leisure destination at Thorpe Park Leeds is lending a 1,600 sq ft store to showcase the work of local artistic creator Tony Clark and support charities linked to his famous sculptures.
The life-size sculpture of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, which has received national media attention, will be the centrepiece for public viewing from Saturday, 1st May before it is potentially positioned by Bradford City Council at the NHS hero’s Keighley birthplace. ‘The Walk of Hope’ bronze statue signifies the courage and strength of character of Captain Sir Tom who raised more than £30 million for the NHS at the start of the Covid outbreak.
From Saturday, 12th June the pop-up store will also feature Tony’s wider work of famous people encapsulated in life size bronze, brass and resin. These will include football legends Jurgen Klopp, Lionel Messi, Billy Bremner and Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa affectionally entitled ‘King of the North’. There is also a life size statue of boxers Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder which captures the knock down moment in their second fight. Visitors will be able to view the works of art but also purchase miniature versions of most sculptures with part of the proceeds going to charity.
The pop-up store at The Springs is being offered to Clark Sculptures as a charitable gesture to help support Tony’s fund-raising initiatives for a period of four months. The Landlord of The Springs is committed to supporting local talent and charitable causes, but also keen to provide new and engaging attractions for visitors as part of the overall experience.
Opening times will be Fridays and Saturdays from 10am until 4pm and Sundays from 11am until 3.30pm.
Tony Clark said: “My work is the result of a passion for sporting hero’s and inspirational people, using my skills to immortalise them in bronze, brass or resin. We have successfully linked these to fundraising, with the Bielsa statue raising £9,700 for the Mind mental health charity. A discussion with my good friend Keith Sharratt inspired me to create a sculpture in memory of Captain Sir Tom which has been widely embraced and will hopefully take permanent residence in his hometown.
“I have been looking for a suitable venue to be able to showcase the sculptures to the public and allow people to purchase affordable miniatures. The Springs is a very smart development and right on my doorstep, so I was thrilled to be offered use of the space. This not only allows a foothold to expand my local enterprise but also maximise income for our charities.”
Tony was a runner up in the recent Leeds Compassionate City Awards which celebrates that positive work that individuals and organisations do to make their local communities a great place to live, work and visit.
The charities to benefit from a percentage of all sales of miniature sculptures are Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Martin House Children’s Hospice Near Wetherby, The Ciaran Bingham Foundation Trust, Leeds South and East Food Bank and Leeds North and West Food bank. The store will also feature a small area for two other talented local artists to display their art. Any sales from these pieces will also be supporting the above local charities.
The Springs Leeds is a 350,000 sq ft shopping and leisure attraction located at the heart of award-winning business destination, Thorpe Park Leeds. Attractions include the UK’s first purpose designed ODEON Luxe cinema, Next, Boots, M&S, TK Maxx, H&M, Pure Gym, Gino D’Acampo’s My Restaurant and many more.
Thorpe Park Leeds is strategically located with its own dedicated access at Junction 46 of the M1. More than 800,000 sq ft of office space is already built, supporting over 5,500 jobs. The ongoing new development at Thorpe Park Leeds was enabled following a unique £162 million investment deal with Legal & General Capital in 2015. Since then, a transformational 1.35 million sq ft mixed-use expansion, with Grade A offices has progressed, bringing a plethora of exceptional new business opportunities to the Leeds City Region.
It has also enabled the delivery of the first section of the ‘East Leeds Orbital Route (ELOR), a key piece of transport infrastructure connecting north and east Leeds to Junction 46 of the M1. This road also unlocks land for the future construction of over 7,000 new homes on the East Leeds area.
Further development plans include the delivery of a 113-acre public park with sports and wellbeing facilities for the community. SGI is also in the process of master planning uses for the adjacent Brown Moor site and has identified potential for further employment opportunities.
Thorpe Park Leeds has been chosen for the new railway station ‘East Leeds Parkway’ and associated Park and Ride, connecting directly to Leeds City Centre in less than eight minutes. This forms part of a £270 million infrastructure investment into Leeds by the Department of Transport.