Red tape leaves villagers unable to repair their war memorial
RED tape has left villagers unable to repair and clean a war memorial ahead of First World War centenary celebrations.
Members of the parish council in Odiham, Hants, had started making preparations for the forthcoming centenary in November. The council wants to carry out repairs and maintenance to the memorial so that it can “look its best” for events later this year.
The work will also include a Victoria Cross slab, which will be added by the Royal British Legion in memory of the soldiers from the area.
But the memorial was listed by Historic England last year and any works now require listed building consent, which means, legally, the owner must be told in advance of any work.
The local authority is unsure of who owns the free-standing monument and the “unfortunate, unseen red tape” has prevented any improvement work.
Cllr Jon Hale, chairman of the parish council, said: “It seems that now we have to prove that we are the owners of the memorial before we can carry out any work. It’s put us in a bizarre position as it is a bit tricky to prove the ownership. But they will be found and this will be sorted.”