The 'Homeless Jesus' statue, planned for the pavement outside Methodist Central Hall Westminster but banned by Westminster City Council, is "a statement about what's happening in London", according to its sculptor Tim Schmalz.

The statue, a version of which has just been installed in the Vatican, depicts a life-sized figure sleeping on a park bench, covered with a blanket, his exposed feet bearing nail marks of crucifixion. Versions exist in the Vatican, Toronto, Washington DC and Madrid.

After St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square rejected it as inappropriate, the historic Methodist Central Hall asked the Council for permission but was turned down on the grounds that it would "fail to maintain or improve (preserve or enhance) the character or appearance of the Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square Conservation Area".

Schmalz told Christian Today that the number of homeless people in the Westminster area – there are an estimated 265 rough sleepers – made the statue a highly relevant addition to the building's frontage. He rejected the council's claim that the area was already saturated with monuments, saying: "It's a modest park bench against a wall and would not create a negative impression. Where we wanted to place it would merge into the church – it's something you would discover as you were walking by."

He said the council's decision was an attempt to "edit out of the visual landscape" an image that was based purely on Christian values.

A petition to get the council to change its mind has so far attracted more than 1,600 signatures.

The superintendent minister of the Central Hall, Rev Dr Martyn Atkins, told Christian Today that it would be appealing to the appropriate body. "Our appeal will be based on the fact that hundreds of people have signed our petition and that we believe the judgment of the council is wrong," he said, adding that "the figure of Jesus is welcomed by huge numbers of people, including those who do not own the name of Christian."

When the rejection of the application was announced Westminster City Council said: "We welcome public art and sculptures in Westminster. However, there are traditionally a large number of applications for monuments and memorials in Parliament Square and the surrounding area and it reached saturation point some years ago when the council introduced a policy of no further statues being allowed in this area."