A SCHEME to put a £200,000 full-size bronze statue of a Morgan car with company founder HSF Morgan and his son Peter at the wheel in the centre of Malvern will go before planning chiefs tomorrow.

Members of Malvern Hills District Council southern area development committee will consider an application to place the bronze on the pavement outside Malvern Museum in Abbey Road.

The idea is the brainchild of Morgan enthusiast Roger Moran, of Suffolk, who has been working on the project for the past three years and spent £30,000 of his own money getting it off the ground.

He has commissioned top British sculptor Les Johnson, who was recommended by the Royal British Society of Sculptors, to create a one-fifth scale model of the 1958 Morgan 4.4 series two-seater sports car and the figures to show to members at the committee meeting.

If approved, Mr Johnson will then make the full-size version.

The model - which will be arriving in Malvern tomorrow - will also be shown to members of the Morgan family and Morgan Motor Company directors at the factory in Pickersleigh Road, Malvern, in the afternoon before the committee meeting later on.

There have been two letters to the council objecting to the project and one supporting.

The objectors are concerned about the size of the sculpture and its location in front of the grade-II listed Abbey Gatehouse, that it will attract drunken hooligans and one objector described the design as vulgar.

The supporter believes it will be an asset to the town and not detract from the gatehouse.

David Murray, head of development control, says in his report to the committee: "The statue would not dominate the visual amenity of the area and is acceptable under the general development requirements of the local plan.

A bronze finish is compatible with other statues erected in the area.

"Your officers consider that the statue would enhance the character of the conservation area and would contribute to local distinctiveness to the benefit of both residents and visitors."

He is recommending the scheme is approved.

Mr Moran said if the statue gets the council's approval, the Morgan Statue Foundation, with Lord Montagu of Beaulieu as patron, will start an international fund-raising appeal so that the bronze can be in place for the car company's centenary celebrations in 2009.