Why hamlet wants to move its war memorial

Official permission is being sought to move a Herefordshire hamlet’s war memorial around 15 metres.

Walford Parish Council has applied for planning permission (number 240125) to move the roadside memorial in Howle Hill, south of Ross-on-Wye, the short distance to the concrete plinth constructed for it in new memorial garden, which was otherwise completed shortly before Remembrance Sunday in 2024.

“The project will only be concluded, in the opinion of the parish council and local residents, when the war memorial has been moved from its current position in a corner of the bus shelter area to take pride of place in the centre of the garden,” the parish council’s application explains.

Measuring 150 cm in height by 60 cm across the square base, the memorial bears the names of around 50 local men lost in the Great War and subsequent conflicts. It is not heritage listed.

The parish council says it is “fully aware of the need to proceed with utmost care in moving the memorial”, and has obtained a quotation and method statement from Monmouth Memorials, actually based in Ross-on-Wye, to carry out the work.

The outcome “would provide a much-improved experience for those wishing to remember those from the parish who gave their lives for their country”, as well as making the memorial and those visiting it safer from passing traffic, the parish adds.

Comments on its application can be made until April 2, with a decision due later the same month.