North Yorkshire Council is arranging for Ripon’s War Memorial to have a deep clean to rid it of dirt and algae.
Since it was unveiled in October 1921, the memorial in Spa Gardens has been the focal point of the city’s Services of Remembrance, commemorating those who served and died for their country in the conflicts of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.
Each year hundreds of people, ranging from scouts and guides to former servicemen and women and civic dignitaries, gather in the gardens to pay respect to the fallen.
In recent years, some of the 339 names of Ripon men who died in the two world wars have become obscured by green algae.
This led Ripon City Council to call on the former Harrogate Borough Council to carry out a thorough clean.
City council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“We raised the issue of the condition of the memorial on at least two separate occasions with officers at Harrogate council and were told 18 months ago that the memorial was on annual spring cleaning programme, but nothing happened.
“I’m pleased to say that we have had an immediate and positive response from the North Yorkshire parks and environmental services team.
“We have been advised that they have inspected the memorial and have instructed a specialist contractor to undertake cleaning in the coming weeks to bring it back up to the standard required.”
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