Cash grant will help maintain Harpenden war memorial

PROTECTING the memory of the war dead through maintenance of the memorial in Harpenden has been helped by a cash boost. Regular cleaning of the war memorial in Harpenden town centre will now be paid for out of a fund set up by the War Memorials Trust, bel

PROTECTING the memory of the war dead through maintenance of the memorial in Harpenden has been helped by a cash boost.

Regular cleaning of the war memorial in Harpenden town centre will now be paid for out of a fund set up by the War Memorials Trust, believed to be in the region of �2,500.

At a recent meeting of Harpenden Town Council (HTC), it was agreed that officers would inspect the site once a year with a view to employing a contractor every three years to clean the stone and re-wax the bronze plaques

Cllr John Chambers said: "We decided cleaning the stone once a year might do more harm than good.

"You can wash a shirt too much. It will be inspected annually and cleaned whenever it is thought to be needed."

St Albans District Council (SADC) planners advised HTC that listed building consent would be required each time the memorial was to be cleaned and suggested the bronze plaques might need to be re-waxed every three years or so.

To clean the stone work each time will cost �560 plus VAT and the bronze plaques will cost �90 plus VAT.