Village war memorial move approved

Concerns were only likely to increase in the future "if it remains in its current site," a planning officer concluded

A village has been given permission to move its war memorial a mile from its current spot in Herefordshire.

The Staunton-on-Wye memorial is by the A438 between Hereford and Hay-on-Wye, a spot that has become "increasingly dangerous" for people attending Remembrance Day services, the parish council said.

It added the plan to move it to land at Doctors Pool had village residents' total support.

Planning permission and listed building consent were granted. The Twentieth Century Society, a statutory consultee on changes to listed buildings including monuments, accepted the need for the move.

It warned the switch had the potential to harm the significance of the listed structure "through its dismantling, relocation and reconstruction and through the loss of its original setting".

The move of the memorial, dating from 1920, should be overseen by "a suitably qualified conservation professional," it said.

The plan to move it to a plot of common land had the support of residents, the council said

The memorial features a polished granite column topped by an orb on a plinth with commemorative bronze plates on three sides, which also commemorate local men lost in World War Two.

Its new setting will be accompanied by new paving, benches and flower beds.

Commenting on its own application, the council said the new site, immediately north of the village's primary and pre-school, would be "accessible to local residents, some of whom have relatives named on the memorial amongst the fallen".

Planning officer Natalie Sullivan concluded concerns relating to memorial services' safety and the preservation of the asset were "only likely to increase in the future if it remains in its current site".

There were no public objections.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.