The Royal British Legion has said that ‘safer and easier’ access to the current Huncoat War Memorial site would be preferable to a proposed move.
The move had been approved in December by Hyndburn’s cabinet on the basis that the RBL supported it.
RBL chairman Trevor Dawson said: “This whole saga has made members of the Legion irate. The council saying that it is the Legion that wants the move is just passing the buck.
“The RBL have no powers over war graves, it is a decision for the people for Huncoat.”
He added: “The RBL in the first instance said that we wanted safer and easier access for all people whether aged, infirm or disabled.
“We simply wanted safer access. Moving the memorial is an issue for the people of Huncoat, the council and the War Memorial Foundation.
“If this is not feasible and a move is the only solution then the RBL will accept whatever the council and the residents of Huncoat decide between them is the best course of action.”
A consultation over the planned move of the memorial from its current location at the top of a hill off Higher Gate to the corner of Lower Gate Road was closed on March 27 and a decision on the proposed move is expected after the local elections.
Julie Leishman, secretary of the Friends of Huncoat War Memorial and Recreation Ground which has been campaigning against the move, said that the council ‘needed’ to take the concerns of residents on board.
She said: “Hopefully this will mean an end to the proposal, the majority of residents don’t want this. We would be quite happy as a group to take on the memorial and ensure there is better access if the council don’t.
“We are just hoping this does not get railroaded through.”
Councillor Ken Moss, Portfolio Holder for Education, Leisure and Arts said: “The consultation period has ended and we are now collating the responses for and against as well as the legal facts.
“I expect to be able to give a full report some time in May.
