Improvement work gets underway at Barnard Castle's Garden on Remembrance (From The Advertiser Series)

Improvement work gets underway at Barnard Castle's Garden on Remembrance

1:25pm Saturday 5th January 2013 in News By Lizzie Anderson

WORK has begun on extensive improvements to Barnard Castle's Garden of Remembrance.

Paving in the garden, in Galgate - which is home to the town's Boer War Memorial - has been relaid and cleaned.

Benches have been taken away and repaired, with wooden slats replaced and the ironwork shot-blasted and repainted.

And one of the seats, a distinctive bench dedicated to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI), has been moved to a location adjacent to the DLI memorial which stands in the grounds of the Bowes Museum.

The work follows an appeal by Barnard Castle Town Council last October, urging residents to express their views on plans to spruce up the much-loved garden.

Among the proposals was a scheme to fix an additional plaque to the war memorial to commemorate those who have died in conflicts since the Second World War.

The council received a positive response from the public and is now awaiting listed building permission to attach the plaque.

In the meantime, the next phase of work will see the perimeter posts repainted and reset and the chain link which connects them given a new coat of paint.

New waste bins will also be installed and the garden flowerbed will be replanted to offer a year-round display of blooms.

The improvements have been funded by a £10,000 grant from the Heart of Teesdale Landscape Partnership and a further £2,184 grant from the town council.

Councillor Frank Harrison, the Mayor of Barnard Castle, and Councillor Roger Peat, chair of the flora and open spaces group, will be helping to carry out some of the work.

Coun Peat said: “The garden was looking rather sad and neglected, especially the border around the outside, where there were just a few roses left.

“The benches were also well past their best. Something needed to be done out of respect to the garden’s purpose.”

Coun Harrison said it was important to look after public spaces within the town, adding: “We want to look after the garden and make sure it doesn’t become an eyesore.

“It is about taking a hands-on approach and showing residents that the town council does not sit back on its haunches but takes action and gets things done.”