A sundial standing 58m (190ft) tall and costing £2.4m is to be built in Staveley, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

The privately-funded Solar Pyramid project, conceived and designed by artists Adam Walkden and Richard Lester Swain, features three mirror-polished steel towers casting a shadow on an elliptical sundial base.

Pick Everard has just been appointed to project manage the scheme

The scheme, which has already received support from Sheffield University and the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, will also feature a visitor centre. The centre will explore the relationship between the earth and the sun and develop ideas for utilising solar energy.

Planning permission has already been granted and work is due to begin in spring next year. The Solar Pyramid is scheduled to be completed in time for 2008’s Summer Solstice. Details: www.solarpyramid.co.uk