River plaque request (From Tewkesbury Admag)

River plaque request

A GROUP of members of the Lower Avon Navigation Trust want to see a lasting memorial put in place to mark the spot where part of the river was reopened in 1962.

The idea for a plaque has been raised before but was not taken on because it was decided that it would not improve the navigation and the discussions had been put to one side while urgent works were being undertaken.

But after one lifelong member was out with his family on a boat trip down the Avon it became clear to him that other than people who were there at the opening, no one would know where it took place.

If approved, the plaque would be placed near the Jubilee bridge, between Fladbury and Cropthorne. This is the place where in the summer of 1962, Mrs C D Barwell cut the tape to declare the river navigation from Evesham to Tewkesbury and the River Severn open, connecting Evesham to the sea.

John Taplin, project manager of the Lower Avon Navigation Trust, said: "This is an issue that has been brought up before but we haven't heard anything about it for a while now."