BOSSES behind Burnley panopticon project The Singing Ringing Tree hope the scheme will be bigger and better than planned with the donation of £10,000 from a mystery benefactor.

The anonymous donor has pledged the cash to the public art project which is set to grace moorland at Crown Point on the site of an old radio mast.

Organisers behind the scheme are also trying to raise another £50,000 on top of the £50,000 already pledged from the North West Development Agency so that they can increase the size of the tree from its current 20ft.

Gayle Knight (inset), of Mid Pennine Arts, one of the groups behind the panopticons, said: "We are hoping that this will be another very exciting project for Burnley at a time when there are lots of positive things happening in the town.

"We are replacing what is an eyesore with what should be a beautiful work of art that lasts for 25 years."

The panopticon project will eventually see six pieces of 'public art' built in East Lancashire.

So far only one of the designs has become a reality, with work almost finished on the Blackburn project.

But the designs for Burnley, Pendle, which has the Atom in Wycoller Park, and Rossendale boroughs, with the Halo at Top o Slate, have been finalised, and are now awaiting planning permission.

The Burnley design, known as The Singing Ringing Tree, by architects Tonkin Liu, has been honoured by becoming part of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The work is expected to go before planners at the council in March with work on the project expected in the summer.

The architects will visit Burnley in March and drive around the town in a van with pipes attached to test the tones, before attending a public meeting.

A time capsule will be buried at the site and a piece of music specially composed for the launch.

People will also be trained in dry-stone walling techniques to build a wall around the scheme.

The Land project, a partner scheme to the panopticons, is also preparing a series of events such as theatre, lantern processions and exhibitions to get people involved in the scheme.

Hyndburn and Ribble Valley are without designs after both areas rejected the schemes initially planned for installation.

In Hyndburn, councillors have repeatedly thrown out the plans for a statue on top of the Coppice.

In the Ribble Valley, designers are heading back to the drawing board after public reaction forced them to find a new location.