One would have thought it was a fairly obvious obstacle to overcome, but apparently the much-hyped nude statue of a half-tonne man in Broad Street does not have planning permission.

The statue was due to be lifted into place atop Blackwell’s Art and Poster Shop on February 15 — but the project has hit a snag.

The fate of the Anthony Gormley sculpture — the man behind the Angel of the North — will now not be determined until March 17 at the earliest.

We are all for public art but the £250,000 iron man statue, which was created at the behest of Exeter College, would be barely visible from the street.

We find it hard to get excited about a 7ft naked man. An Angel of the North it is not.

Councillors have got on their high horses that the project was set to be decided without their help by professional officers under so-called delegated powers.

The issue has now been called in so councillors can get in a lather about it.

For goodness sake, just get on with it.

We expect they will ask for a site visit, or ironmongery lessons, before making a final decision.