Brierley Hill war memorial restoration branded a success by MP
Brierley Hill's war memorial has been restored in time for its centenary on Remembrance Sunday.
The war memorial restoration was the first part of Brierley Hill Heritage Action Zone works which will see several buildings in the town brought back to their former glory.
The revamp of the memorial and surrounding railings included new information boards about the various conflicts and the local people who died in them, next year the memorial gardens will be landscaped.
The improvements in Brierley Hill are being funded by a £1.8 million grant from Historic England's Heritage Action Zone programme.
Dudley South MP Mike Wood inspected the restored memorial with Eilis Scott from Heritage England and declared it a success.
He said: "I am so pleased to see work to repair and restore Brierley Hill War Memorial progressing so well. The restored memorial will stand as a proud and powerful reminder of the men whose names are carved on it, and as key focal point for local people to reflect on the heritage of Brierley Hill.
"These works just wouldn’t have been possible without the £1.8million of Heritage Action Zone funding which we made the case for, and I really want to thank the local community for being so involved with this project."
Historic England's regional director for the Midlands, Eilis Scott, said: "As we approach Remembrance Tide and the 100th anniversary of Brierley Hill's War Memorial, we wanted to update Mike Wood on the recently completed restoration work at the site.
She added: "New interpretative panels are an important complementary feature, telling the story of local people who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, Cyprus Emergency and Malayan Emergency."
"The Memorial restoration project is part of Historic England's wider commitment to supporting the regeneration of Brierley Hill through our £1.8million Brierley Hill High Street Heritage Action Zone. We're pleased to have had an opportunity to discuss with Mike the impact that this work is making on the surrounding community."