A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to build a £1m monument to Queen Elizabeth II could be back on the table after an appeal was lodged with the planning inspectorate.

In July, Northumberland County Council’s strategic planning committee rejected plans, submitted by landowner Lord Devonport, to build a 56-metre (184ft) tall monument on the top of Cold Law Hill near Kirkwhelpington.

Councillors went against the officers’ recommendation to approve Ascendant: The Elizabeth Landmark and rejected the application, arguing that the location was not suitable.

Following the application, a spokesman for the team behind the monument said they would be looking to appeal later in the summer, but no appeal materialised.

However, an appeal was lodged with the planning inspectorate on January 8.

The team behind the monument said they believed the development would be a heritage and cultural destination, as well as driving cultural tourism and improving the local economy.

They also hoped the monument would “complement the growing arts, heritage, and cultural heritage of Northumberland”.

It means the monument, which would be three times higher than the Angel of the North, could still be built.

It was designed by acclaimed artist Simon Hitchens, who said he was hopeful the idea would come to fruition.

He said: “It is a piece of land art, really, and I hope it will be judged on those terms.”

However, the application caused outrage among local residents, and received almost 120 objections.

In addition, a protest group, Keep the Wannies Wild, was set up to oppose the plans.

In the summer, group leader Emma Anderson said the group was prepared to fight the application if it went to an appeal.

The group raised objections to the setting and size of the monument.

And it also criticised the road infrastructure and lack of amenities, and the damage to the “untouched” landscape.