PLANS to establish a new war memorial in the centre of Knutsford have gathered pace this week.

Knutsford Town Council is working with Knutsford Royal British Legion to establish a new central War Memorial for the town as a key part of the commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.

A working group of councillors and representatives of the Knutsford RBL have been working to develop plans and held a series of engagement events over the weekend, which supports a consultation that has begun.

The proposal is to relocate the Haron Baronian statue, currently at the Memorial Cottage Hospital on Northwich Road to the Library Gardens.

The working group investigated a number of potential sites in the town centre, including the Little Heath and Wallwood among many others, and settled upon the Library Gardens as the best site. The primary reasons for the Library site is that it offers security for the important statute and would provide a suitable memorial garden and space for remembrance services.

The statue is one of Haron Baronian, a Private who served in the Cheshire Regiment during World War I. He was the second son of Zarch Baronian of Brae Cottage, Legh Road. Haron enlisted as a solider in 1915 and was killed in action on April 11 1917, aged 21.

The sculpture was commissioned by the Baronian family and sculpted by Sir Hamo Thornycroft RA. It is one of only six memorial statues in the country where the figure depicted is the likeness of a known servicemen.

The working group have discussed the proposals with Haron's only surviving family members who are happy to see the statue be dedicated as a memorial to all those from Knutsford who gave their lives in service of their country during the wars.

Town Mayor Clr Neil Forbes said: “It was excellent to see Knutsfordians calling in to this important consultation event; if you couldn’t attend over the four days it’s not too late to respond.

"I look forward to hearing the results in mid-March with interest.”

Clr Tony Dean added: “"It was good to see the very high level of support from Knutsford residents for a new war memorial in the town centre, during my stints at the public consultation event last weekend. I await the outcome of people's preferred site and nameplate location when the responses are collated."

Adam Keppel-Garner, town clerk, said: "Both the town council and the RBL believe a central location will increase public access to the statue and that forming a new town centre memorial is a fitting commemoration of the centenary.

"The RBL has a duty of care for the statue and with the future of the Memorial Cottage Hospital uncertain, there is the additional benefit that relocation provides additional protection for the statue.

"The town council has been awarded a grant of £8,000 from Cheshire East Council and will seek to secure additional funding from other bodies. The town council has also set aside £10,000 towards the project."

The aim of the town council and Royal British Legion is to relocate the Haron Baronian statue to the town centre by 2018 - subject to the results of this consultation.

To give your views on the plans visit surveymonkey.com/s/HHDCRZV or call the council on 01565 653929. The consultation runs until Friday, March 13.