PLANS to erect a nude statue looking down on Broad Street have run into trouble, just ten days before the unveiling ceremony.

With sculptor Antony Gormley due to come to Oxford on February 15 to see his iron statue lifted on to the top of the Blackwell’s Art and Poster shop, Exeter College has been criticised for going ahead without planning permission.

The statue, by the creator of the Angel of the North, is set to become a new addition to Oxford’s skyline. The naked figure, weighting half a tonne, will be lifted on to the roof by a crane as the highlight of the Turl Street Art Festival.

The ceremony will also coincide with a celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of Exeter College’s chapel.

But it has emerged that planning permission is unlikely to be secured until March 17, a month after the 7ft statue has been put in place.

And to add to Exeter’s problems, the local city councillor Sushila Dhall has told The Oxford Times she intends to have the application ‘called in’ to the central, south and west area committee so that it can be “properly debated”, with the final decision taken by elected representatives.

Ms Dhall, of the Green Party, said: “I actually like the statue. But it should not be decided under delegated authority.”