AN ACCOMPLISHED soprano from Worcestershire will be taking centre stage at a major fundraising event in aid of the Stanley Baldwin Statue Appeal.

A dinner and concert for up to 400 people is being held at Treetops Pavilion in the West Midlands Safari Park near Bewdley on Wednesday November 29.

The entertainment for the event includes Worcestershire born Elizabeth MacDonald, the City Concert Orchestra and the Bewdley Festival Singers.

Elizabeth, who was born in Worcestershire and had her first public performance aged five singing for pensioners in Inkberrow, has sung at festivals and concerts throughout Europe, the UK and particularly the Midlands. Recent appearances include the Messiah at Worcester Cathedral and with the Worcester-based English Symphony Orchestra.

The safari park event is being organised by the Stanley Baldwin Statue Appeal Committee in conjunction with Bewdley Civic Society.

The appeal was launched last November and has so far raised about £90,000 towards the cost of a life-size bronze statue of the three-times Prime Minister who was born in Bewdley. The figure is being created by acclaimed sculptor Martin Jennings, who made the statue of the late Sir John Betjeman standing in St Pancras Station, and will be installed in Load Street, Bewdley in December.

The statue and installation could cost up to £150,000, depending upon the amount of groundwork required and whether there are major changes needed to pipes and cables under the pavement.

This year is the 150th anniversary of Stanley Baldwin’s birth and the 100th anniversary of his first major political appointment – Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

After working in the family iron and steel business, he became the MP for Bewdley and West Worcestershire, led the Conservative Party for 14 years and became a three-times British Prime Minister during the inter-war years.

Despite an outstanding political career, during which he handled a number of national crises with great mastery and laid the foundations for many social reforms we now take for granted, there has been no statue to celebrate his life and work.

Chairman of the Bewdley Civic Society Richard Perrins said: “We have raised approaching £90,000, which is enough to cover the cost of the statue – currently being cast in the foundry from a full-size clay model.

“We still don’t know how much the ground works are going to cost and we are hoping to know that soon.

“It is exciting that the statue is being cast but we need to have this other event to cover the cost of the rest of the work.”

For tickets and further information about the dinner and concert at the Treetops Pavilion email the secretary of the Bewdley Civic Society bmlongmore@gmail.com

This is the third major event relating to the appeal. A reception to publicise it was held at the House of Lords in January and an appeal dinner hosted by Lord Cobham was held at Hagley Hall in February.

Anyone who wants to donate to the Bewdley Civic Society statue appeal can visit localgiving.org/charitybewdley-civic-society/projectstanleybaldwinstatueappeal or sending a cheque to Bewdley Civic Society SB Account, 16 Park Dingle, Bewdley, DY12 2JY.