A planning application for the relocation of Street's original war memorial has been approved by Mendip District Council.

The application to dismantle the original memorial and reconstruct it in a new location in Merriman Park in Street with later additions of the concrete insert, raised concrete curb and metal railings to be demolished and replaced with a simple stone border, was made by Street Parish Council's assistant clerk and projects officer Mark Sandiford.

The original memorial including the hooded Calvary, tapering octagonal shaft, square plinth and three-stepped octagonal base will be dismantled and reconstructed in its new location.

The later additions of the concrete insert, raised concrete curb and metal railings will be demolished and removed.

The war memorial was built from the public subscription in the 1920s and originally placed in the grounds of the mission church on Vestry Road.

In the 1970s it was moved to Merriman Park on a temporary basis while changes were made to the road.

In 2018 the war memorial was listed by English Heritage without prior consultation with Street Parish Council.

As the existing memorial only included names from the First World War, a new memorial was commissioned to include a complete list of names from both the First and Second World War. The new memorial was located on the High Street and was inaugurated in 2018.

Merriman Park developments

In early 2000s Street Parish Council took over Merriman Park from Mendip District Council and began to develop the park for fuller community use.

In 2017 the Merriman Park Community Group commissioned a new design for the park, which includes separate play areas for younger and older children, a table tennis table, fitness stations, a sensory garden and a large open grass area for leisure activities and community events.

The war memorial is currently located in the centre of the open grass area, which the council says is hindering community events, such as the annual family fun day, where spectators gather to view a staged area.

The memorial will be moved to a subtly raised area in the south-east corner of Merriman Park, where it will retain a prominent position, but allow for greater community use of the gardens.

In approving the application, the planning officer's report said: "The development would not result in any harmful impact on the street scene, surrounding area, residential amenity or highways/parking, and the impact on important trees can be controlled adequately by a condition.

"The application is, therefore, considered to be acceptable. It is considered essential that a legal agreement is in place to ensure that the re-building works are carried out within a specific timescale subsequent to the dismantling works."