An elderly Millport campaigner is seeking assurances from North Ayrshire Council that the island's war memorial on the seafront is repaired and cleaned up in time for Armistice Day next month.
Andy Bryan, 83, first wrote to North Ayrshire Council last April about the poor state of the memorial, and in June of this year, the local authority confirmed that they had received funding from the War Memorials Trust to update the memorial.
However the work has not yet started, and Andy has been told by North Ayrshire Council that the work is due to start by 26 October.
Andy said: "I alerted North Ayrshire Council to the situation on 20 April last year. I understand the council's application to the war memorial restoration fund, which was confirmed in June, so why have we had to wait so long to get it done? I expressly asked that the work is done before Armistice Day, and I have now received confirmation that the contractor will be on site on 26 October.
"It badly needs cleaned up, with some areas worn away, and the walkway around it is poor and needs cleaned. The lettering on the memorial also needs to be cleaned.
"The thing that I am worried about is that we are reaching a period when there is regularly bad weather, and they seem to have only given themselves a short window to get the works done between 26 October and Sunday 12 November."
Mr Bryan also highlighted the issue with the island's shelters which have been fenced off for repairs on the island. Works had started on the shelter at Newton Bay last month but had to be stopped after a bird was found nesting inside. However, the community council have asked why the council didn't move and start work on the other shelter on the island, instead of just downing tools.
A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We were delighted to receive confirmation of a successful grant application on August 10 from the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund, administered by War Memorials Trust, which will allow restoration work to be carried out at Millport War Memorial.
“This grant is worth £3,520 and will cover 75 per cent of the total cost of the work, with the Council funding the remaining 25%.
“The funding will allow the memorial to be cleaned, re-pointed, and the letters repainted as well as allowing the surrounding railings to be cleaned, primed and repainted.
“The appointed contractor, due to existing workloads, is unable to start the work until 26 October but is confident that the work will be completed by Remembrance Sunday.
“We hope that once work is complete, residents will be pleased to see this landmark restored to its original glory.”
An elderly Millport campaigner is seeking assurances from North Ayrshire Council that the island's war memorial on the seafront is repaired and cleaned up in time for Armistice Day next month.
Andy Bryan, 83, first wrote to North Ayrshire Council last April about the poor state of the memorial, and in June of this year, the local authority confirmed that they had received funding from the War Memorials Trust to update the memorial.
However the work has not yet started, and Andy has been told by North Ayrshire Council that the work is due to start by 26 October.
The 'News' understands that it is a requirement of the grant application process that a pre-application is first submitted for the War Memorials Trust to determine if the project is eligible for the funding. North Ayrshire Council received a decision on the 7 June 2017 that the project was eligible and the full application was subsequently submitted on 28 June 2017. They received a decision and confirmation of the funding on 10 August 2017.
And the works on the Millport shelters are due to take place over the coming weeks.
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