Ledbury councillors are set to debate the town council’s handling of the refurbishment of the war memorial.

An internal report due to be put before members tonight (Thursday, October 6) questions whether the council followed the correct procedures when commissioning the renovation works that took place in 2020.

“Extensive and complex” records containing minutes and notes from meetings were scrutinised and councillors involved in the restoration project were interviewed as part of the investigation.

The report says no evidence was found to suggest the council fulfilled a number of regulations, including correctly advertising the contract opportunity, drawing up a technical specification, appointing project roles and preparing a client brief.

READ MORE: Ledbury war memorial repairs will take place after Remembrance Sunday

It concludes by saying: “Scrutiny of the record fails to provide evidence that Ledbury Town Council acted entirely within the regulatory framework”.

The town council started the process of renovating the High Street war memorial in 2019 following a £30,000 donation from former Lancaster bomber Stuart Heaton.

Work took place in 2020 but cracks and green mould started appearing just months later.

Wooden planters were placed around the Grade II listed monument in High Street to stop its base being a trip hazard.

New memorial repairs hit by series of delays

And angry residents even visited the original contractors to stage a demonstration.

In February, the council promised to carry out fresh repairs to the monument “as soon as possible” but a series of delays mean the work will now take place after Remembrance Sunday in November.

Steve Ellis, an experienced construction site manager, prepared unofficial reports on the state of the memorial for the town council in October 2020 and April 2021.

He said earlier this year he was saddened by the state the memorial had been allowed to get into.

“I have a family member mentioned on the monument. It's all wrong. In my opinion, if the work had gone to a specialist conservation contractor like the ones recommended on The War Memorial Trust website, this mess would not have happened.”

As well as the findings of the internal investigation, councillors are also due to consider tenders from companies hoping to carry out the latest round of work.