THE Morgan car company will celebrate its centenary in 2009 and the proposal to install a commemorative statue in Malvern in honour of this great achievement would be a recognition of its being one of the world's oldest surviving car manufacturers.

The proposed site, adjacent to the Priory Gatehouse (Malvern Museum) would I think be very appropriate, linking two parts of Malvern's great heritage. The statue would not be in front of the Medieval part of the building (the Archway) but in the corner in front of the Victorian extension, itself only a little more than ten years older than the Morgan Motor Company.

The statue would have a patinated bronze finish which should not detract from the view of the Gatehouse behind. It should, in any case, be a great deal less of an intrusion than the usual parked vans etc that are often parked there and should in fact prevent this from happening in future.

It is proposed the statue be made by Les Johnson, one of the pre-eminent artists in bronze in Britain who has many other installations to his credit, this would be a nationally, if not internationally important installation that we should be proud of.

The statue would be a great asset to Malvern and if we lose the chance to have this important installation we shall regret it in years to come. We must not allow this to happen!

ROGER ILES, Bank Street, Malvern