PLANS are afoot to give Alvechurch precinct a makeover - which may include the installation of a life-size statue called 'granddad'.

Alvechurch Parish Council's village centre improvements committee is looking to commission the sculpture, which will cost at least £1,000, from a Cornwall-based sculpture workshop.

It would be made from heavy-duty fibreglass and could be finished in bronze or flesh tones.

It could even be made to resemble a local figure.

There are no protruding parts that could be easily broken off and any deliberate scratches could be repaired using a kit supplied by the sculptors.

Parish council clerk Gill Lungley said: "There is enthusiasm for a granddad statue.

"There is a similar one sitting on steps at Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, which passers by can walk around and touch.

"It would be great to have something like that in Alvechurch, although it would probably be horrendously expensive if it were bronzed."

The sculpture will form part of the committee's vision for improvements to the village centre, which also include the formation of an open-air area and the relaying of a pedestrian surface to produce a cobbled stone effect.

There are also plans for a planting scheme, planters and seating.

Mrs Lungley said the next step was for the plans to be approved by the parish council, precinct landlord the Bernard Piggott Trust and the Highways Partnership, if the area was to be pedestrianised.

The workshop started making granddads about 12 years ago and has seen them grow in popularity.

Co-founder Richard Austin said: "They have become very popular, especially since we started selling them to raise money for Driving Ambition, a charity which helps disabled and disadvantaged people realise their potential, and achieve goals they never thought possible."