COUNCILLORS are to debate whether a statue in memory of a much-loved goose should be removed from Watchet Harbour.

The memorial to Derek the (female) Goose was installed without planning permission beside the water she had made home for over a decade before disappearing presumed dead in late 2021.

Somerset West and Taunton Council's (SWT) planning committee will decide the statue's fate next Thursday (February 23).

Somerset County Gazette:

Derek the Goose.

An officer's report recommends allowing the 1.75-metre tall stainless steel artwork with solar powered spotlights to remain in situ on land at the marina edge, on The Esplanade.

The report says: "The retention of the memorial is not considered incongruous or detrimental to the character of the Watchet Conservation Area, where the Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack statues are already sited.

"The retention of the memorial would not interfere with the safe operation of Watchet Harbour and would not impede vehicle/pedestrian flows."

SWT has received around 60 comments about the statue, most of them suggesting it should remain where it is.

Watchet Town Council is among a handful of objectors, claiming the memorial does not enhance the conservation area.

It says: "The town council would like to see it re-sited elsewhere around the harbour side and it is probably best suited to a site on the eastern quayside."

The town council points out that there is already a small copper model of a goose on top of one of the pontoon polls in the marina nearby to commemorate Derek.

Derek took up residence in the harbour after being blown in with a gaggle of geese during a storm in 2010.

She opted to stay when the others flew off and was the only snow goose in the West Somerset town.

She became known for her bossiness and was partial to cabbage and Weetabix fed to her by locals and visitors.