'Halo', Pennine Lancashire's fourth and final Panopticon, was launched today at a spectacular event on Top o' Slate, overlooking the town of Haslingden in Rossendale. Directed by international theatre company WildWorks, the event involved many local people and community groups, who walked from the town in a procession led by horses and accompanied by local drummers up to the 'Halo' site. After readings by poetry competition winners and music provided by folk musicians and the Rossendale Male Voice Choir, 'Halo' was illuminated for the first time against the night sky.
If you do go for a stroll to see 'Halo' and you're thirsty on your way back down, the landlord of local pub The Griffin has brewed a special 'Halo' beer to refresh you!
Directions
To find 'Halo', join the A56, either from the M65 J8 heading south to Bury/Manchester, or from the M66 heading north, which becomes the A56. After a few miles you will arrive at a large roundabout (the Rising Bridge roundabout). Take the Blackburn Road exit (A680) which leads into Haslingden. After approx 1/2 mile and immediately after some traffic lights, turn left steeply up Hud Rake, which becomes High Street. 400 yards further on, there is a sharp left turn on to Higher Lane. Only residents and those with disabled parking permits have vehicle access beyond this point, so download the walks leaflet, park in the town and walk up Higher Lane towards 'Halo' (approx 10 minutes). The views on the way up as well as from the top are spectacular!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excitement is mounting as Rossendale's Panopticon 'Halo' nears completion. The finishing touches are currently being applied to the striking steel structure and the surrounding site on Top o' Slate. A major launch event involving many local people and organisations will take place on 20 September, when the inaugural lighting of 'Halo' will take place.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first stage in the construction of 'Halo', East Lancashire's fourth and final Panopticon, is now complete.
Designed by John Kennedy of LandLab, the 18m-diameter steel lattice sculpture is supported on a truncated tripod five metres above the newly landscaped ground at Top o' Slate, above Haslingden, in Rossendale. The core is open at the top, framing views of the sky. The steelwork has a natural silver appearance which will temper to matt as the galvanised finish weathers.
The second stage of the project, now under way, is the installation of lighting to create the subtle glow which will give 'Halo' its identity on the night-time landscape. Trusses, radiating from the central conical core of the structure, will support luminous blue rings, lit with low-energy LEDs. The lighting has been designed to minimise light pollution and to avoid any disruption to wildlife. The low-level electrical requirement will be met by an adjacent wind turbine providing a renewable source of power.
Image: Nigel Hillier
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Work is now well under way on the construction of 'Halo' – the fourth and final Panopticon in the series, to be sited at Top o' Slate in Rossendale. The structure is being assembled in the workshop of local steel fabricator A D Morton in Bacup and will be erected on site in April/May. The next stage will be the installation and testing of the lighting in June/July, and it is expected that the structure will be complete by late summer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an exciting announcement made today, it was revealed that Rossendale's Panopticon 'Halo' is one of a small number of major pieces of public art to have been selected for investment by the Northern Way, a unique collaboration led by the three Northern Development Agencies which is investing £4.4 million in iconic works of art as part of an innovative £13 million cultural programme across the North.
'Halo' has been chosen, like the other artworks selected, because of its high quality and iconic potential. The Northern Way will invest £153,000 towards lighting and other strategic costs associated with the delivery of 'Halo'.
Plans for the commencement of works on Rossendale's Panopticon 'Halo' and the wider REMADE scheme on Top o' Slate were last night given full cabinet approval by Rossendale Borough Council.
REMADE and Groundwork will commence the wider site works, including the 'Halo' foundations, in December. Fabrication of 'Halo' will commence in the workshop after Christmas, with installation on site in the spring. This will be followed by the installation of the lighting and it is anticipated that the scheme will be complete by the summer.
Planning permission has been granted for 'Halo' as part of the over all scheme to renovate Top o' Slate.
