Little interest in designing £50,000 Fleet war memorial as competition closing date nears

A war memorial design competition with a £500 prize has so far attracted very little interest.

With just two weeks left until the closing date, competition organiser Harold Payne, of The Anglia Motel at Fleet, has received no entries. Only University Academy Holbeach has indicated an interest in taking part.

Mr Payne wants the proposed war memorial to honour fallen services personnel from more recent conflicts. It is planned to be on a parcel of his land alongside the A17. He has allocated a £50,000 budget plus a £500 prize for the young designer of the winning entry.
Anyone aged 17 or under living in Lincolnshire is eligible to enter.

The war memorial would be a prominent and lasting landmark – and one which Mr Payne believes children would be proud to have designed.
He said: “I’d like to give children the opportunity to do this because they are the next generation.
“This memorial would be something to commemorate all the young men and women who have lost their lives in conflicts in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and The Falklands War.
“There’s the National Memorial Arboretum and the Bomber Command Memorial and I think it would be nice to have something as a commemoration around here.”

Planning permission would be required for the war memorial. Mr Payne hopes to create an attractive site on the half acre of land at the junction of Washway Road and Fleet Road.

The war memorial can be designed to be made out of any material but Mr Payne wants it to have a modern look and a “wow factor”.

“There are some fabulous examples of sculptures and memorials and I’m sure the children of Lincolnshire can come up with something great,” he said.

Entries should be sent to Memorial Design Competition, The Anglia Motel, Washway Road, Fleet Hargate, Spalding PE12 8LT. Closing date is December 18.