A CHURCH in Ramsbottom has said that it would welcome a new war memorial that is currently in its planning stages.

The new sandstone war memorial adjacent to St Paul's will be in two curved sections at the rear of the existing war memorial and will “enhance the existing memorial and add impact to the space”, according to the planning application.

The project is a partnership between Proffitts – Investing in Communities and The Ramsbottom War Memorial Project group working alongside officers at Bury Metropolitan Borough Council who own the land in question.

The project group have been keen that a memorial specifically naming those who fell during conflict be created in Ramsbottom as a fitting tribute to the men and women and also as a place of solace for families and friends where they can be remembered.

The memorial would be built on the land adjacent to the church and would be an “asset to community”, according to the church’s warden and administrator.

Warden Sue Holdway said: “It is something that the Legion have been wanting to do for a long, long time. They want to remember those who haven’t been put on the existing one.

“The town has been behind them and helped raise their money. They’ve now put their plans forward and we fully support them.

“They should be remembered. We have a memorial already but this one will remember everyone. I think it will be an asset to the community.”

The Ramsbottom War Memorial Project group has previously said: "By having such a memorial we will be recording, for posterity, a permanent visible and tangible record of the names of those Armed Service and Merchant Service Personnel from Ramsbottom, who gave their lives for their Country since the start of WW1 through to future conflicts.

"The memorial will form an integral part of Remembrance events."

This project will provide the only comprehensive listing of the war dead of Ramsbottom.

The project currently has two aims. The first is to create a new stone memorial which contains the names of those who fell in conflict during the world wars and the other is to enhance and upgrade the wider public space around the war memorial.

To this end, boundary stone walls would be rebuilt and repaired while landscaping work would be performed on the area.

Physical access to the site will thus be improved by the proposals as all existing paths will be graded and resurfaced, becoming free from uneven areas.