Memorial for adult and child miners approved

Burton & Neston History Society will build the steel statue on a green in the Wirral village of Ness

Plans for a crowdfunded memorial statue to commemorate the deaths of adult and child miners have been given the go ahead.

Cheshire West and Chester Council's planning department has rubber-stamped an application by Burton & Neston History Society to build the steel statue on a green in the Wirral village of Ness.

The memorial has been designed to commemorate the deaths of the Ness Miners – men and children – as well as provide information about all the miners who worked in the collieries in Ness and Neston.

The statue consists of three miners, two of whom are children. The overall size will be 1.6m high and 2.5m wide and set on a concrete base.

The statue will be designed and constructed by Poplars Forge.

An online crowdfunding campaign had been launched by the society to raise money for the memorial.

The crowdfunding website said 45 backers had contributed £15,736, including £11,200 from the council's community innovation fund.

On the website, it said: "The historic village of Ness is proud of its memorials to Lady Hamilton, her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as well as to servicemen who lost their lives in both World Wars.

"What is missing is a memorial to those men and children of Ness who toiled years ago in its coal mine. Working underground in appalling conditions some, both men and children, tragically lost their lives. They too deserve to be remembered with a suitable memorial in the heart of Ness Village."

'A wonderful addition'

The statue will be designed and constructed by Poplars Forge.

Several public comments were received in support of the application and one opposed, which raised concerns over the statue's design and cited highway safety as a potential issue.

One of the comments in support said: "There is so much mining history in the area and many of the residents had relatives who worked those mines.

"I personally feel it would be a wonderful addition to the village green, the design is so simple yet so meaningful."

Granting approval, a planning officer's report said: "The statue is of a scale and would be sited such that it would not in itself be a prominent addition to the street scene which would harm the appearance of the area."