Documents say the artwork will be formed of a cylindrical column, on top of which will be a thinner metal “neck” topped by the “sharp-edged” nib, appearing to imitate a fountain pen.
The council’s public arts department raised concerns it had a “risk of being climbable”, which would allow people to stand on it and “interfere with, or dislodge [the] sharp element of the sculpture”.
“The proposal does not demonstrate how structurally robust the central structure of the nib section would be,” officials said.
“There is a risk that, if this could be bent or snapped, the two metre steel point could become damaged or dangerously detached.”
However, the council’s planning officers disagreed and said the base and sharp elements were “significantly higher than the average person”.
