The council has decided that the elegant but massive wind farm blade on its hands will go to Veness Park, next to the Gwydir Highway.

The blade is damaged and so unusable by the White Rock Wind Farm which donated it. It currently lies in a yard on the outskirts of Glen Innes on the road to Inverell.

Because of the damaged state, the thing can’t be erected vertically to provide a spectacular sculpture but would have to be horizontal, laid on pillars high enough to prevent people spraying it with graffiti.

Some councillors proposed alternative sites – Colin Price: it should be erected on the round-about by KFC but painted to look like a poplar tree; Andrew Parsons: outside the Visitor Centre; Carol Sparks: on the edge of town – she wondered if trees would have to be cut down to make way for it on Veness Park.

Tree cutting or not, Veness Park was the choice. General manager, Hein Basson, said it didn’t get a lot of use. It’s also near the shops on Grey Street so easy to get to.

The cost of the whole installation, with concrete and steel plinths, would be something like $30,000.

Time is short because once the Sapphire Wind Farm is built, the specialist, heavy-duty trucks will leave the area. The council estimates the moving would cost about $10,000.

Here’s how the report to the council addressed cost: “Installation will also require the construction of concrete footings and steel fabrication for mountings, plus the use of cranes to lift the blade into position. These works are estimated at $30,000, however, the allocation of those funds can be deferred for a further report once detailed engineering designs are complete.

“Funding would be required in the short term to move the blade from its existing location to Veness Park, whilst the trucks capable of this manoeuvring is still available within the area. It is estimated that an amount of $10,000 would be necessary for this purpose.”