Armistace plaque plans abandoned
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PLANS for a new memorial commemorating the community's contribution to the Great War a Century after it occurred have been abandoned.
Forres Community Council (FCC) was to buy and install a plaque at the Tolbooth recognising local service personnel and those on the Home Front who endured World War I, but a delay in Moray Council's planning application process meant they missed the opportunity to place it as close as possible to the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Armistace.
Having mooted the idea last summer, FCC chairman Graham Hilditch told his colleagues how disappointed he was at February's meeting in the Tolbooth.
He said: "A 12-week response time from Moray Council is beyond belief. An email takes 10 seconds. The planning officer should have explained the length of the process back in October. The commemoration was in November so the moment has gone as the anniversary has passed."
Mr Hilditch met with the planning officer at the Tolbooth to discuss the proposal on November 5 before confirming the plans via email on December 8.
They included erection of a plynth from a local stonemason on the right-hand-side of the Tolbooth main entrance. Funding was procured from the Common Good Fund for a granite plaque made by Henderson and Sons/Elgin Marble Company.
Mr Hilditch asked for confirmation from the local authority that planning was permitted which was promised by Sunday, December 16 but never materialised.
Instead, mid-January, Mr Hilditch received a £50 invoice for lodging a planning query and was told another £200 would be chargeable for planning consent.
Moray Councillor Lorna Creswell has promised to investigate the delay on FCC's behalf.
However, a Moray Council spokesperson said: “Planning advice given in advance of an application being submitted is confidential, however we can confirm that planners have been in discussion by, email and face-to-face with members of Forres Community Council regarding the memorial plaque, consents required and alternative options.
"We understand that the commemorative event is to be held in May 2019 and can confirm no fee is charged for planning advice for community groups. No planning application has been received by Moray Council."
