Plans for Elsie Inglis statue on iconic thoroughfare approved

Nearly two decades after proposals first emerged for a memorial to the pioneering suffragist and doctor, members of the City of Edinburgh Council’s development management sub-committee approved a planning application for the near four metre high tribute to the founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service (SWHFS).

The statue, designed by Alexander Stoddart, the King’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland, will take pride of place on the Royal Mile, outside the site of The Hospice maternity hospital which she founded in 1904.

The process behind the design, and the appearance of the statue itself, have been the subject of heated debate, with critics of the memorial - which will feature Dr Inglis wearing the uniform of the SWHFS - claiming that it is not representative of her life and achievements.

READ MORE: Edinburgh heritage body claims Elsie Inglis statue on Royal Mile should be 'more feminine'

But after nearly three hours of discussion, members of the local authority committee voted for an amendment which granted the statue planning permission. The vote also dispensed with a condition recommended by the council’s chief planning officer, David Givan, which would have ruled out a 1.9 metre high plinth.

Councillors heard a range of views about the statue, with those opposed to it insisting that more needed to be done to engage the public. Addressing the meeting, Natasha Phoenix, one of the campaigners behind the Elsie on the Mile Facebook page, dismissed the plans as a “private commission in a public space,” and argued that it failed to meet the council’s planning policy, stating that it disregarded the concerns of Edinburgh World Heritage and “undermined the principles of good governance.”

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She claimed that a wider public consultation into the statue was “blocked,” and said it was not right that only one design was put forward, adding: “Planning application policies exist for a good reason. Public art is not decoration, it is an expression of who we are, what we value, and what we want to say to the world.”

Ms Phoenix continued: “This design risks erasing Elsie’s true story. It could be mistaken for a war memorial while overlooking her revolutionary role in maternity care - the very reason that she is beloved across Scotland.”

Also addressing the committee was Ian McFarlane, the founder and chair of the Dr Elsie Inglis-Scottish Women's Hospitals' Trust, who described the planned design as “one dimensional,” adding: “It ultimately does Inglis a very, very great disservice. Moreover, a monopoly on High Street monuments by one artist cannot and does not reflect the essential diversity and depth of Scots artist talent.”

But Dr Clea Thompson, a great-great-great niece of Dr Inglis, told councillors that the statue would allow future generations to learn about her achievements and “remember how Scottish women changed the course of history,” explaining: “Far from erasing women’s history, this location brings it to the centre of public voice.

She also said that any changes to the pedestal on which the statue is to be placed would “undermine the impact” of the tribute and “diminish” its visibility. “On the Royal Mile, on a pedestal, she would stand shoulder to shoulder, her statue itself representing equality with men,” she added.