A Cradley Heath metal sculptor and relative of JRR Tolkien hopes to soon start work on a controversial Lord of the Rings-inspired piece of art to commemorate the late great author's Birmingham roots.

Tim Tolkien, the great-nephew of the legendary author of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, has designed a 20-foot stainless steel tree creature Treebeard the Ent, to be sited on the village green in Moseley.

Despite a storm of protest by neighbours who fear it will distract motorists, prove a magnet for vandals and spoil the Conservation Area, Birmingham City Council has granted planning permission for the huge sculpture - and Tim, formerly of Wordsley, hopes to start construction later this year.

The 44-year-old artist's design has been criticised as a piece of kitsch junk by Birmingham writer Terry Grimley.

But this week he hit back saying: "If it was any smaller it would get lost within the street furniture.

"Moseley Green is not green at all; it's a paved area with seating and road signs and traffic lights - and it needed to be 20-foot high because of health and safety issues so all the climbable sections are high up and out of reach; and I don't think it's out of scale."

The Moseley Traders Association, the group which commissioned the piece, is still trying to cover around £80,000 worth of costs - and plans to raise as much cash as possible by auctioning inscribed metal leaves to accompany the artwork on ebay.

Members of the public will be able to bid on the internet based auction site for the chance to have their own personalised leaf set in glass resin and sited at the feet of the finished piece of work.

Although born in South Africa in 1892, Tolkien lived in Moseley from the age of three and residents will be celebrating his links with the area at the annual Tolkien Weekend at Sarehole Mill, Hall Green, Birmingham, on Saturday May 19 and Sunday May 19, where the first of the leaves will be on sale at a reduced price before the ebay auction begins.