THE Cenotaph on Bridge Foot is set to be dismantled and stored away while work planned to cost £1.3 million is completed.

Warrington Borough Council has submitted a planning application proposing to strengthen the river bank of the Mersey with sheet piling, along with associated dismantling and repairs at the town centre site.

The authority has also applied for listed building consent to authorise work on the Grade II structure.

It comes after the masonry river wall – along the section of the Mersey immediately below the monument – was found to be in a poor state during a routine inspection of bridge and riverside structures.

High water levels and increased river flow have exacerbated the condition in recent years, causing part of the river wall to collapse.

Around £1.3 million will be spent to temporarily move the Cenotaph and carry out repairs to the river bank – a decision approved by the executive board last July.

If proposals are approved, the Cenotaph, curved flank wall and other projecting walls will be recorded, dismantled, transported and stored after this year's Remembrance Day service.

The heritage statement confirmed the use of a land-side crane sited within the war memorial gardens would be required.

The components would be temporarily stored in a ‘secure compound’ with CCTV for the duration of the project, with the bronze plaques to be stored in an office.

As part of the project, the council is also taking the opportunity to improve access to the site by replacing side steps with ramps.

The scheme is being delivered by Balfour Beatty, which has engaged with specialist structural engineering consultants Ramboll UK Ltd.

The application expires on May 30.