BLENHEIM Palace plans to install a giant 25 feet golden steel cage within its grounds.

The Blenheim Art Foundation seeks to add the ‘gilded cage’, a creation by Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei.

The cage itself was made for the Good Fences Make Good Neighbours exhibition in New York.

That project saw over 300 public artworks and installations placed around the city to draw attention to the global migration crisis.

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Blenheim now hopes to temporary install the artwork, and has applied for planning permission to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC).

In the application, the art foundation said the cage would be a ‘striking work to install at Blenheim Palace’.

The application went further, saying the ‘scale and gold hue will look aesthetically impactful against the yellow limestone and gilding of the palace’.

A spokesperson for Blenheim said they were unable to comment as the application is still in the planning stage.

In a consultee comment, Historic England said the cage would be a ‘highly visible structure that would appear completely at odds with the visual character of this part of the park’.

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An Historic England spokesperson said the organisation has asked for more information, for example whether it was proposed to be temporary or permanent, and is now in conversation with Blenheim.

They added: “Blenheim is internationally important as a Grade I listed building and a World Heritage Site, and it has always been on the cutting edge of introducing exciting new elements to its offer.

“Heritage, art and culture go hand in hand and we appreciate the power of temporary art installations to attract visitors and bring a welcome new dimension to historic spaces.

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“We have enjoyed a close working relationship with Blenheim for many years and we are in contact with them to make progress with this particular installation.

“Our aim is to work with our partners to ensure that new artworks are carefully considered and in the right place so they enhance their special historic surroundings, allowing contemporary art and historic places to complement one another.”

Last year, a £1m gold toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace, having only been installed the week before.

The planning application for the cage can be seen on WODC’s online planning pages, using reference number 20/00685/FUL.