A “bold and striking” sculpture depicting the role Llanberis played within the globally recognised slate landscape of North Wales is being planned.

The artwork, crafted from local slate, is being developed in Llanberis as part of a series of town centre improvements across.

The Llanberis sculpture will reflect the theme of the role of women and domestic life in the slate industry – described as a “a hidden history not currently well interpreted”.

Gwynedd Council is working with artist Howard Bowcott and the community for the feature to sit beside the waters of Llyn Padarn.

A full application for the sculpture’s installation has been submitted to council planners.

A gently twisting column has been designed to be “bold and striking” standing 4.6m high, 1044mm x 880mm at its base and 1.6m wide at the top.

The location of the work, opposite the Dinorwig quarry, is intended to “create a visual link” to the industry that went on there.

The sculpture will also direct people from the Y Glyn/Gilfach Ddu/Parc Padarn/Wyddfa area towards Llanberis village centre by attracting attention to the route.

The sculpture will also reference the special chisels and wedges used by generations of slate workers, with “a nod” to the related trades of the industry, such as foundry and metal work.

The application says bilingual text will “juxtapose two very different aspects of this World Heritage Site: the vast workings of the Dinorwig quarry and the multiple

aspects of domestic, community and religious life that supported and shaped the culture of the slate landscape.

“The text will draw upon the notion of ‘a man behind every slate and a family behind every man'”.

It is hoped the sculpture will become a “place to be photographed, and a feature to draw the viewer deeper into the history and language of this important World Heritage Site”.