A WAR MEMORIAL in Finchampstead will move location, after an application from the parish council was approved last night.
On Wednesday, February 9, planning committee members at Wokingham Borough Council approved the proposal to re-erect the monument in nearby Memorial Park.
The stone cross has sat at the junction of Jubilee Road and Rectory Hill since 1920.
Cllr Graham Jukes, Lower Wokingham parish councillor for Finchampstead Parish Council, said that the site is “extremely dangerous” to visit, and added that the parish council cannot recruit contractors to maintain the site, due to this danger.
He said that residents should be able to “reflect in safety on the sacrifices made by the many”. This was a view shared by the planning committee.
Cllr Jukes said that the junction sees 11,000 traffic movements per day, making it difficult for people to reflect at the memorial.
However the cross will lose Grade II listed status as a result.
Cllr Rebecca Margetts, Conservative councillor for Finchampstead South, said that the proposal was both an emotive subject and an important issue.
“As a resident, you are not able to walk to this memorial,” she said. “I’ve got children who’ve never been able to go up to it.”
Finchampstead resident Ian Adnams, who opposed the relocation, argued that the cross should stay at its current site, where it “stands tall and proud”.
He also said that the cross serves as a waymark, which helps drivers become aware of a difficult or dangerous spot or an intersection.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Conservative councillor for Hillside said that she was torn over the decision.
“That position was selected by people who were directly affected by the First World War,” she said. “I’m very reluctant to see it moved like a piece of street furniture to a more convenient location. I’m very very torn.”
Cllr Angus Ross, Conservative councillor for Wokingham Without said that he has never seen anybody, other than on Remembrance Sunday, risk crossing the road to go and look at the memorial.
The principle of the relocation was approved by eight votes, with Cllr Jorgensen voting against it.
Its location in Finchampstead Memorial Park was then discussed, with Mr Adnams suggesting that it be placed at St James Church instead.
Cllr Gary Cowan, independent councillor for Arborfield, argued that the relocation of the memorial cross in his ward had been successful, and the success could be repeated in Finchampstead.
Cllr Bill Soanne, Conservative councillor for Loddon said that a memorial park is the best location for the cross, and referenced the success of Woodley’s war memorial, which was established in 2014.
“We have a war memorial in Woodley, we had discussions and it was sited in the aptly named memorial ground,” he said. “Each year, on Remembrance Day, we are attracting in excess of 200 to 250 people.
“That’s made up with schools, youth groups, members of the public. People congregate there at any time during the year.
“You wouldn’t be able to do that where this memorial is, and I think that’s a great shame, so I think this is a good move.”
In the vote to move the stone cross to Memorial Park, eight councillors voted for and Cllr Jorgensen voted against.
