After years of delays, a giant egg whisk – as it has become known to some – will finally be installed on Gants Hill roundabout.

But there won’t be much to scramble or poach – standing 16m above one of the busiest thoroughfares in the borough.

The artwork, designed by award-winning Nottingham artist Wolfgang Buttress, was first unveiled in 2010.

Since then, delays finalising the structure and the safety of it, among other details, has seen its installation date repeatedly put back.

Now it looks set to be installed in a matter of weeks, but it could divide opinion.

“It will put Gants Hill on the map – it will be a landmark,” said Cllr Ruth Clark, who has long championed the regeneration of the area.

At application has been submitted by Redbridge Council for the lighting of the base of the artwork, as well as the installation of the steel and bronze wire structure.

The 16m column will be topped by an “irregular shaped feature 9m long by 4m wide”.

The £80,000 being spent on the structure was set aside specifically for public art by developers responsible for a series of housing builds in Gants Hill.

But with the economy taking a turn for the worse since then, Cllr Clark thinks many may rush to criticise the artwork.

She said: “People would be right to say art isn’t the priority, but this money was set aside years ago.

“When we put it out to consultation, this was the design the residents and businesses wanted.

“Art is subjective. You wouldn’t like a painting that I liked.”

The Conservative councillor added: “It’s very much my baby. I pushed to have the money for art spent in Gants Hill.

“Maybe people will throw eggs at me!”

The artwork, described as an “abstracted egg”, is designed to represent regeneration and new life.

A plaque will be erected nearby to commemorate the structure.

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