Public square set for £200k improvement works

St Mary Bredman Square in Canterbury is set for a £200,000 refurbishment

A graffiti-covered public square in Kent is set for a £200,000 refurbishment, it has been announced.

St Mary Bredman Square in Canterbury, near the former Nasons department store, is home to a war memorial, seating and flowerbeds, but become rundown, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Canterbury City Council said it wanted to make the area more welcoming and has suggested implementing new steps and seating, improved flowerbeds and a new mural.

The council has submitted the proposals to its planning department, with a deadline for the decision set as 26 May.

St Mary Bredman Square in Canterbury is home to a war memorial, seating and flowerbeds

The courtyard's Grade II listed war memorial was built in 1922 and honours the Royal East Kent Yeomanry.

Stewart Ross, chairman of Canterbury Commemoration Society, praised the council's plans and said the war memorial should be moved to the Dane John Gardens, closer to other memorials.

"Certainly, [the refurbishment] needs to be done because it's a pretty crucial area in the history of Canterbury," he said.

"It could be quite attractive and we'd support any work being done to improve it. It needs a bit of artwork there rather than that out-of-place memorial statue."

The former Nasons store is also Grade II listed and once formed part of the St Mary Bredman Church.