The Giles statue unveilled at the new Giles Circus junction in Ipswich; Ipswich Mayor Jane Chambers with from left: Giles nephew Chris Wilson, Council leader Liz Harsant, friend of Giles Ken Bean, Cllr Tanya de Hoedt, David Ralph from the Haven partnership and project manager Graham Rankin

ONE of Ipswich’s best-known landmarks has been returned home today after a major remodelling.

The Giles Statue has been fitted on top of a plinth at the junction of Princes Street and Queen Street in an area now known as Giles Circus.

Work on the area started in February and will have cost about £650,000 – the majority funded by the Haven Gateway Partnership to help boost tourism in the town.

There are still some finishing touches to be completed at the circus before it is formally reopened next Monday.

Ipswich councillor with responsibility for economic development Richard Atkins said the completion of Giles Square was an important milestone for the town.

He said: “We wanted to show people moving to the town and to businesses thinking of coming here that we wanted to invest in the town centre.

“I think that is really paying dividends with new businesses coming here, and having an area like Giles Circus to provide a focus for one of the town’s best-loved characters helps to confirm that.”

The statue was unveiled by actor Warren Mitchell, a great friend of the cartoonist Carl Giles, in 1993.

For the first 17 years of its existance it sat outside the window of Giles’ studio where he produced all his cartoons for the Daily and Sunday Express.

It has now been moved to a plinth on the opposite side of the street to give it more prominence.