CONCERNS over a further wave of tourists blighting the lives of residents of a small isolated village has seen the body behind a proposal to site an artwork by a Turner Prize-winning sculptor asked to review its plan.

The North York Moors National Park Authority’s planning committee heard by siting Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture of a Nissen hut south of Low Dalby, tens of thousands of extra visitors pass between it and the car parks north of the village.

An autumn unveiling is hoped for the concrete artwork, which will serve as both the climax to the Imperial War Museum’s First World War centenary programme, 14-18 Now, and to kick start the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Forestry Commission.

Hayley Skipper, the commission’s arts development programme manager, said the scheme was a unique opportunity to create “an internationally important sculpture” in the national park.

Low Dalby resident Dr John Allan responded by telling the committee members villagers already suffered the intrusion of tens of thousands of visitors heading to the nearby Ellerburn Trail, which features Julia Donaldson characters such as the Gruffalo and Highway Rat.

He said: “The average number of people in 2016 that attended events or sculptures sponsored by 14-18 Now was 145,000 per year. Even if this development results in a third of that number it will still double the already unacceptable number of people coming through the village to access the Ellerburn Trail.

“On May Day bank holiday this year Dalby village fell into complete gridlock as a result of visitor pressure. Car parks were overflowing, people were parked on verges, there was traffic backed up, the whole thing ground to a halt due to the number of visitors.”

Committee member Jeremy Walker, a former chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said he was supportive of dramatic works of public art being located in the national park, but had “real concerns about the impact on the village” and questioned whether an actual Nissen hut would win planning approval.

Members deferred the application to enable officers to explore with the Forestry Commission whether there were alternative sites for the sculpture and to discuss traffic concerns.