REDDITCH rock legend John Bonham could finally be honoured with a statute in the town centre, the Advertiser can exclusively reveal.

Plans have been put forward for a large bronze memorial depicting the Led Zeppelin drummer in Mercian Square, off Church Green.

Ros Sidaway, from The John Bonham Memorial Fund (JBMF), said the main bulk of the funds have been raised thanks to a private donation.

Ros, who runs record shop Vintage Trax, said the plans had been a long time coming.

"We started this in 2013, so to get to this stage is amazing," she said.

"I'm both pleased as well as relieved."

She said that the memorial should mean a lot for the town, as well as help raise the profile of John among younger people who may not be fully aware of who he was, or that he was born in Redditch.

She added: "It will help bring a sense of pride back to the town."

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The memorial, by renowned British sculptor Mark Richards, will have an arc shaped footprint and be approximately 180cm high (at its highest point), 490cm wide by 125cm deep and weigh more than 2,500kg.

The statue, featuring a wheelchair friendly path around it, will be fixed onto a concrete foundation.

The striking design is intended for 360 degree viewing.

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To ensure the quality and stability of the memorial is preserved, the bronze will be coated with an anti-graffiti paint.

Campaigners from JBMF plan to set up a Friends of the John Bonham Memorial group that will have "guardians" responsible for its cleaning and general upkeep.

It is hoped the statue will be revealed before what would have been the iconic drummer's 70th birthday in May next year.

The plans will be decided upon at a meeting of Redditch Council on October 11.

A special event will be taking place at Vintage Trax, in Headless Cross, on September 22 and 23 to mark John's death where people can view the plans in more detail and comment on them.

The John Bonham Memorial Fund formed in 2013 to raise cash for a permanent memorial.

Bonham was born in Redditch and was the drummer for Led Zeppelin until he died at the age of 32 in 1980.