A 50m (164ft) high sculpture of a white horse is to be built in Kent after being selected as the winner of a competition to find a major new public artwork as part of the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project (ELP).

The £2m horse, which will be 33 times life-size, has been designed by former Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger, and will be situated next to the A2 in Springhead Park, overlooking Ebbsfleet Valley and Ebbsfleet International Station. Wallinger's design was chosen from a shortlist of three, which also included Daniel Buren and Richard Deacon. A planning application for the sculpture will now go before Gravesham Borough Council, although a decision is not expected for another year.

Funding is being provided by the founding patrons of the ELP, including Eurostar, Land Securities and London and Continental Railways, and it is hoped that the new artwork will symbolise the regeneration of the Ebbsfleet region. Stephen Jones, ELP chair, said: "In spite of the current recession, this project remains important for the 25-year task of building sustainable communities around the Ebbsfleet Valley and strong economic development around Ebbsfleet International Station.

"Now we can focus the further technical development and other practical studies on just one design as we find out what the planners make of it."