War memorial could be removed on safety grounds

The memorial was created after residents researched people in the area who gave their lives

A war memorial is at risk of being removed after trustees of a village hall raised safety concerns.

Scarisbrick Parish Council has been accused of failing to maintain the monument, which was funded by the local community, on the grounds of The Venue in Scarisbrick, West Lancashire.

Hall trustees claim the council has failed in its duty and said they had been forced to issue a removal notice.

The dispute has upset Scarisbrick residents including John Herbert, who in 2014 was actively involved in creating the monument to locals who gave their lives in World War One.

He said: "We should be honouring these young lads. They served and they made the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard the freedom we now enjoy."

Mr Herbert and his colleagues found there were 65 Scarisbrick residents who died during the conflict and half of those had not been named on existing memorials.

He said: "For nine years, the memorial has stood in pride of place and is registered with the War Memorials Trust, which can be accessed at the Imperial War Museum.

"It was also installed in accordance with guidelines from the National Association of Monumental Masons.

"What does it say about us if that memorial is removed. Who is anyone to say it must be removed?"

'Resolve this amicably'

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the village hall trustees issued a formal notice to the parish council on 11 July and gave it 28 days to remove the memorial.

Scarisbrick councillor Chris Berks said: "Unfortunately, it looks like the village hall are now intending on removing the memorial.

"However, the parish council would seek to resolve this amicably with the trustees of the venue and we're actively seeking an agreement so that we can repair the path and restore the monument back to its original condition."

LDRS contacted the chair of trustees for the hall and was directed to the notice served to the parish council made public on social media and displayed near to the war memorial.

It said the council "promised to maintain the monument and path" yet despite "repeated requests for the path to be fixed it has now become a serious safety issue with most of the flags cracked, uneven and able to be lifted away from the floor completely".

The note said the trustees had received no replies to letters and emails it had sent to the authority.