Orry Mitchell was shocked to see a sign closing off the war memorial in Ballasalla because it ‘may be’ unsafe and a danger to the public.
‘It’s an overreaction,’ he said. ‘I do not see big chunks of concrete falling on the ground. It adds weight to the argument, get rid of it or move it. Let’s see the report and see what’s safe and whether remedial work can be done to preserve it.’
Late last year it emerged Malew Commissioners were concerned the memorial – a Celtic cross near the Poacher’s Pocket development – was eroding.
Moving it from its current location is unlikely, so if a replacement is required, they decided to investigate alternative locations.
This was reported in the Isle of Man Examiner in November, but Mr Mitchell said he didn’t want to read about it in the newspaper.
He said there should be discussions with Malew residents, whose predecessors erected the memorial in 1923 ‘to honour those who gave their lives for us and we would remember them in a prominent position.’
His father, Cecil, and the late David Allsebrook, with others, ‘fought off an attempt to have the war memorial moved so a developer could build or improve sight lines at this location’. He added: ‘There’s got to be some respect for that.’
Mr Mitchell emailed the authority to ask for ‘a copy of the document that states that this historic monument “may be unsafe”’.
Commissioners’ clerk Barry Powell said the authority had received an email from the Preservation of the War Memorials Committee on June 2 saying the committee ‘having received professional advice, asks the commissioners to please note the concern . . . that the Malew Parish War Memorial is unsafe and therefore a danger to the public. Immediate action needs to be taken’.
Mr Powell added: ‘The commissioners have, of course, requested sight of this professional advice and are quite willing to let you see it once received.
‘However, until this is received we had no option but to restrict access to the memorial.’
The board hopes this is a temporary measure,