A proposed sculpture near the entrance of the New Selby War Memorial Hospital looks likely to be approved this week.

The idea, which will go before Selby District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, is to put up a sculpture on a pedestrian island in the centre of the new building complex.

According to the report, the sculpture “is formed by three pieces of a penny which is seen as a whole piece from one viewpoint upon exiting the building”.

It would reference the original hospital in two ways – because the original subscription for fundraising by the population of Selby was one penny per month, and because the sculpture would also bear the date of the original hospital’s opening, in 1927.

Consultation with neighbours and nearby residents has taken place in the form of an advisory letter from the NHS.

A response to the planning application has come from B and E Shooter, residents of nearby Courtneys, off Doncaster Road, and has been logged with the council.

The letter said: “No details of the sculpture are given, therefore it is difficult to evaluate.

“We support the application only if it is a war memorial sculpture to those who gave their lives for the country and traditional in design.

“We totally reject the application for any other purpose, especially some modern, expensive monstrosity.”

The letter also raised concerns about the cost of the 3.3 metre-tall bronze statue, which will be mounted on concrete plinths, and also includes an LED lighting system along the edge of the “coin”.

But the report to councillors said financial issues were not an issue.

The report recommends the planning application be given the go-ahead, providing details of the lighting fixtures to be used on the sculpture be submitted to the planning authority in advance.

Earlier this year, a public vote was held to choose the name of the new hospital, which is being built next to the new Selby Community Centre, after residents objected to the NHS dropping the War Memorial name.