Council Meeting 10 December 2020
East Bergholt War Memorial

1. At the Council meeting on 12 November 2020, Councillor Allen who had represented
the Council at the Remembrance Day commemoration commented adversely upon
the maintenance of the war memorial and the surrounding area. He enquired as to
who was responsible for such maintenance. The Clerk undertook to make enquiries
and report back (Minute 15 refers).
2. There are really only three candidates for the maintenance responsibility, the Parish
Council, the Church and the Royal British Legion.
3. The Parish Council has not maintained the memorial itself for as long as anyone can
remember, though the grounds maintenance contractor who maintains the closed
churchyard has cut the grass surround during the summer months, though informally
rather than as a prescribed duty to fulfil a legal obligation.
4. The Rev Canon van der Toorn has confirmed that the Church has never had any
official responsibility although various church members may have been involved in
some informal tidying up over the years.
5. The best source of information has been District Councillor John Hinton who has
been the Royal British Legion representative in the village for many years and has
over that period planted both winter and spring flowers in the stone troughs which are
part of the memorial. He has consulted the Roll of Honour history and the
accompanying short history of the war memorial. These reveal that the memorial is
Grade II listed and situated on land ceded to the Parish Council. Councillor Hinton
and his predecessor at the Royal British Legion had undertaken the planting of
flowers but had never taken on any responsibility for the structural maintenance.
Moreover, when he was Chairman of the Parish Council, Councillor Hinton stated
that it was accepted to be the Parish Council’s responsibility and he had instigated
investigations to clean and renovate the memorial, though it seems this never came
to fruition.
6. It is evident that whilst the responsibility for the war memorial cannot be specifically
ascribed to any particular party, the Parish Council is the most likely body to bear that
responsibility and the best resourced to do so. If responsibility is assumed, it is
proposed that the grass continue to be cut by the Council and that the memorial be
professionally inspected, cleaned and repaired as necessary at least annually. Both
Councillor Hinton and the Rev Canon van der Toorn support the Council assuming
the responsibility for maintenance of the war memorial and Councillor Hinton has
indicated that his modest Babergh locality budget might be able to contribute to costs
if an application for same is made on the basis of the benefit to the residents of the
village.
7. It is RECOMMENDED that the Council assume responsibility for the maintenance of
East Bergholt War Memorial and the land upon which it is situated.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
3 December 2020