WESTBURY Town Council wants to hear suggestions from local people about what they should do to create a lasting memorial in the town for Queen Elizabeth II.
At a town council meeting on Monday 7th November, councillors agreed to ask residents and fellow councillors for suggestions of what would be a fitting memorial to Her Late Majesty.
One of the suggestions from cllr Gordon King was to rename Soisy Gardens, the garden next to the War Memorial and the library, Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Garden.
Speaking about this at the meeting cllr King said, “This would be a good idea as Soisy Gardens is directly in the town centre, and as we divorced from twinning with Soisy over 20 years ago now, the name won’t be missed. The location is very central and I think that if we built an archway across the steps and let people know it is a memorial garden, we would get people coming to pay their respects.”
However, cllr Mike Sutton suggested that money could be better spent elsewhere. “Where will this end?” he said. “When every road and building is called the QE II building I suspect, as this is going to go on forever. I do not oppose this as an idea, but I will say that this should not cost us any money.
“We should not be spending any public money on this – I’m happy if you just want to change a sign, but we are entering into a period of great distress for most people of this town and I don’t know how we can justify spending council tax money on this. I think the Crown itself should fund such things as this.”
Cllr Matt Dean added, “There is a large group of people in this town that feel a strong attachment to Her Majesty and some people will want to pay tribute to her and her service. I think we should reach out to the public and ask what they would like to see.
“Before we do anything on this, we should wait for the government guidance that is forthcoming on this, that will be published before the coronation next year.”
One of the newly-appointed town councillors, cllr Philip Harcourt, added that the redevelopment committee of All Saints Hall are also currently discussing plans to rename the hall, the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Hall.
Residents are invited send any suggestions for a lasting memorial for the Queen to the town council offices by Friday 9th December 2022. Suggestions can be sent by email to info@westburytowncouncil.gov.uk or by post to Westbury Town Council, The Laverton, Bratton Road, Westbury BA13 3EN.
A final list of proposals and costs will be put to town council at a future meeting and a decision will be made in line with further guidance on lasting memorials, expected in the spring of 2023.
