Sir Hare Hops Back to Rawtenstall.

Next time you walk from Bank Street into Rawtenstall Town Square, you’ll be greeted by Sir Hare - Marjan Wouda’s 3.6m tall steel sculpture. After a massive £23k community crowdfunding campaign and a welcome boost from Lancashire County Council’s Culture Fund, he’s officially back in Rossendale where he belongs.

Let’s be honest... with the roadworks on Bank Street set to drag on for 42 weeks (and that's if they run on schedule!), our local independent businesses need all the support they can get right now. Staring down the barrel of nearly a year on a building site is tough on the shopkeepers and market traders. Anything we can do to bring a bit of life, a few Instagrammable moments, and some solid good VIBES! back to the area is an absolute win.

So let's do what we can to back our town. Buy that pizza with Tim, get yer mop cut with Chris, or grab a sweet treat from Ashley. Get to know the people running these places - they’re fucking good people!

As for the Hare? He looks brilliant, and people are definitely going to want their photo taken with him. If having a bold, eye-catching piece of public art in the square gives people from surrounding towns a reason to pull up, take a photo, and stick around, that’s footfall right where we need it. While they’re here, hopefully they’ll drop a bit of dosh with a local trader or two.

Public art gives a town its identity, but more than that, it brings people together. Sir Hare isn't just a statue in a square - he’s proof of what this community can pull off when we back each other. Wanna read the first part of Sir Hare's story? Click here!