Back to Square One (From Warrington Guardian)

Back to Square One

THE RELOCATION of Crewe's war memorial was dramatically halted last week after the new borough council board announced an eleventh hour consultation on its future.

Plans to install the memorial's plinth in Municipal Square were put on ice at the last minute after fresh doubts were raised about the controversial relocation.

In a week of revelations that could blow apart the previous administration's blueprints for the town, the Conservative-led board will now launch a consultation giving residents the ultimate say on Britannia's final location.

A referendum on returning the memorial to Market Square is now a real possibility.

Council leader Brian Silvester this week told the Guardian that the memorial could be returned to Market Square at no extra cost.

He explained that plans for the square had not yet been drawn up but £1.5million had been earmarked for the re-development in the budget.

Cllr Silvester said: "In the budget there is £1.5million for the re-development of Market Square and nothing has been decided about that yet.

"If the consultation results in the memorial going back we would be looking at a design to include that.

"This all came about because the previous administration didn't consult and ignored the people's views.

"A petition was signed by 10,000 people and that shows how strongly people feel about it.

"We're determined to consult the people on every issue to make sure we listen to them."

As well as a referendum, other forms of consultation being considered include public surveys and using the citizens panel.

A move back to Market Square could result in the town having no war memorial in place for Remembrance Sunday.

Cllr Silvester added: "We would like to see that it is in place for Remembrance Sunday but with the possibility of it going back to Market Square we couldn't guarantee that.

"The most important thing is to get it right. We don't want to go through this again.

"We're trying to sort out the mess left by the previous administration."

The move has been welcomed by Memorial Action Team leader Frank Jones, but he has doubts about the value of a referendum.

He said: "It's great news that they are considering putting it back but there is no need for a referendum - thousands of people have already spoken by signing the petitions.

"We want the memorial back in its rightful place."

Labour leader Steve Hogben slammed the proposal, saying: "There could be additional costs charged to the tax payer, the poll would cost anything up to £70,000.

"If the decision was to take the memorial back to Market Square, it might not even be back before Remembrance Day 2007 - that is conceivable."