HATFIELD residents are calling for an iconic statue to be moved back to the town centre.

Mark Lampert, who lives in Bishops Rise, and several town councillors are trying to get the statue, Reclining Nude in a Shell by James Butler, rehomed in White Lion Square.

Known locally as ‘Pearl’, the 50-year-old statue was moved from the town to behind the New Barnfield Resources Centre when the fountain was removed from the square.

Now, locked behind gates, she is out of public sight and about to undergo a restoration. Mr Lampert is now trying to drum up support to get Pearl back where she belongs.

He said: “She is a part of Hatfields cultural history – an iconic statue.

“It was designed for the town centre and it should be there.”

He also said that if Pearl had been in the town centre when the redevelopment started she would certainly have been incorporated into the design.

“It could have been the central focal point,” he added.

Councillor Kim Langley backed Mr Lampert, but said the most important issue in Hatfield at the moment was the town centre redevelopment.

She said: “It is a lovely statue, if it is feasable and we could fit it in then we could find it a home in the town centre.

“If it can be fitted in to the designs it would be lovely.

“But the redevelopment has to be put first.”