We have completed a stunning new sculpture in the heart of Nidderdale which has been dubbed “Yorkshire’s Angel of the North”.

Coldstones Cut is an iconic piece of public art built into the hilltop at Coldstones Quarry, Greenhow, above Pateley Bridge and is the result of a partnership between businesses and Nidderdale Visual Arts, a community-based arts charity. The sculpture is in the form of a viewing platform at the quarry which is owned and operated by Hanson UK, part of the HeidelbergCement Group.

It was created by renowned artist Andrew Sabin and visitors can walk through it to explore the different vistas it reveals, including the day-to-day workings of the limestone quarry.

At 1,400ft above sea level and one of the highest points in Yorkshire, the construction was not without its challenges, including lying snow and driving grit, which meant everyone on site needed goggles.

Coldstones Cut took 28 weeks to complete, with more than 12,000 man hours involved in its construction. Built with 3,500 tonnes of stones, specialist equipment was needed to play the larger pieces which weighed up to four tonnes each.

The finished sculpture is 75m long, 53m wide and rises to a height of seven metres. It sits on a reinforced concrete raft and consists of a 75m long sunken road with two seven-metre high access spirals at each side with viewing platforms on the top. The whole sculpture is visible not only from satellite but for miles around and is expected to remain part of the landscape for centuries to come.

The sculpture was official opened by the Director of Tate Britain, Dr Penelope Curtis, who compared it to the 12^th century viewing terrace at Rievaulx Abbey which overlooked industrial activity.

Sculptor Andrew Sabin talked about the heroism of the organisations which had come together to achieve the project, which represented an “enormous leap of faith”. He said: “It was truly heroic for Houseman and Falshaw and their team who have worked day after day in the toughest imaginable conditions.”