A sculpture planned to help direct patients and visitors to Frenchay Hospital has been delayed because planning permission has not been granted.

The artwork was due to be craned into place in mid September, but the size of the sculpture meant that the trust had to apply to the council for the project to go ahead.

Planning permission for the project is hoped to be granted in early December and the work will then be installed.The planning application for the sculpture was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council on September 21 – two days after it was due to be put up.

As previously reported in the Evening Post, the £13,000 artwork, being paid for by charity funds, will be installed near the restaurant at Frenchay Hospital to serve as a marker so that people can find their way around the site.

The 6m-high sculpture features three figures, representing patients, staff and visitors at the hospital.

It will be featured on maps so that patients and visitors can recognise where they are and where their destination is in relation to the sculpture.

Local artist Peter Moorhouse designed the sculpture and worked with the public and staff to create the final version.

Mr Moorhouse has incorporated the red Frenchay soil into the design. The two figures at the base of the sculpture will be left to rust so that they reflect the colour of the local earth, while the top section will be made in polished steel and will be lit by spotlights.

Ruth Sidgwick, North Bristol NHS Trust's (NBT) arts programme manager, said the money used for the work had been put aside for arts projects and was not therefore money that would otherwise have gone towards patient care.

NBT spokesman, Richard Cottle, said: "The planning application for the sculpture went in on September 21 and we are expecting a decision to be made on December 7. The designs we were looking at initially were slightly smaller than the design we have ended up with. It is about 6m tall, so it goes over the top of the skyline of surrounding buildings.

"As soon as we realised that, we got on to the council and put an application in."