Avenue of Remembrance at the Tilt - Consultation
You may have heard that Elmbridge Borough Council has opened a very important consultation as to how we can best preserve the Avenue of Remembrance at the Tilt. You will recall that we erected the granite monument there in 2009 to put into context the flowering cherry trees.
The Avenue of Remembrance of flowering Cherry Trees on the Tilt is both a well known local landmark and a registered war memorial. Because cherry trees only have a life of 40 - 60 years and because replacement trees are not thriving with the severely compacted ground, the Avenue has lost its impact and the community now needs to consider the best course of action for this important landmark.
Following consultation with the local ward Councillors and key community stakeholder groups including this Heritage Trust, it is now important that the Council officers understand your wishes as the residents of Cobham and Stoke d’Abernon. Please take the time to look at the report and the additional information provided and to make your views known via the Elmbridge Council website (click here to visit the website). It is important to note that the Council has secured funding for both the options outlined in the report and no decision has yet been reached. The Council looks forward to hearing your views by 30th September 2017. The consultation questionnaire only requires you to choose between two options and to add any comments you may want to leave and will only take a few minutes of your time.
The council have arranged two drop in sessions where officials will be available to chat to residents about the proposals: on Tuesday 19 September, from 17:00 until 19:00 at Cobham Library, Cedar Road and Saturday 23 September at Cobham Farmers Market, Hollyhedge Road from 09:00 until 14:30.
In addition, Ian Gayton, head of open spaces at Elmbridge and a great friend of the trust will be coming to our open meeting on Wednesday 27th September 2017 at 8pm at the Cobham village hall when he will be discussing the subject and will be answering your questions.
These forty four trees have a special significance as they were planted as a memorial after the Second World War by the Cobham Village Women's Institute with each tree commemorating a life lost from Cobham during the Second World War, 1939-1945. The Dedication Service for the Avenue of Flowering Cherry Trees took place on Sunday 24th February 1946.
When originally planted each tree had a metal collar with the name of a serviceman. Over time some of these trees have died and although the tree has been replaced, most of these collars have been lost. We know all the names of those commemorated but we don't know for certain which name appeared on which tree. If you know which name appeared on which tree please let us know so we can complete the list shown below? Three serviceman did not have a tree.
