Standing 33m (108ft) tall, the Star of Caledonia will be visible from the M74 near Gretna Green, with the local authority hoping it will attract around 250,000 visitors a year to Dumfries and Galloway.
Revised plans for the project, which have been in the pipeline for more than 20 years, were approved by the council’s planning applications committee on Wednesday.
Work on the sculpture, which will feature illuminated spikes with 100 LEDs, is set to begin in early 2026 with the hope that it could open to the public by 2027.
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Once completed, the structure, designed by Cecil Balmond with input from the late Charles Jencks, will be considerably taller than the Angel of the North at Gateshead.
It is designed to celebrate the area’s role as a “gateway” between Scotland and England while also helping to boost the economy, as plans for a loch, a visitor hub, a viewing terrace, an island, and boardwalks have also been approved.
A competition to design the massive structure was won in 2011 by Cecil Balmond’s Star of Caledonia.
Planning permission was secured at the time, but the project was halted due to funding issues.
Now the revised plans have been unanimously approved by councillors and Star of Caledonia trust trustee Julian Beressi said he hopes it will be a place people will visit “again and again” once it is complete.
He said: “The star aims to celebrate the very best of our region. It will celebrate innovation and become a new cultural destination for both visitors and locals.
“Above all we hope it will become a place people want to visit again and again.
“The star will showcase the wider region, signposting visitors to other destinations accessible from the star, promoting the area as a place to visit and stay, generating additional visitor spending across the region and supporting businesses and jobs in the wider area.
“We want our visitors to become part of the star’s story and for the star to become as symbolic and world renowned as the Angel of the North and the Kelpies.”
Annandale East and Eskdale Councillor Archie Dryburgh said: “This is about getting people into Dumfries and Galloway.
“Maybe they have to turn right to go to the Star before they turn left to go to the rest of Dumfries and Galloway.”
