CAMPAIGNERS behind a project to give Watchet a new war memorial are celebrating a major step forward.

West Somerset Council's planning committee approved the scheme put forward by the Watchet Remembrance Project for the three-metre high tribute on land outside the town's library - but with a compromise on the accompanying "visual clutter".

Despite controversy over the choice of the site - close to the St Decuman pebble mosaic and in a designated conservation area - councillors overwhelmingly backed the proposal at a meeting last Thursday.

Both Watchet Town Council and the Watchet Conservation Society, despite giving their wholehearted support for the idea of a memorial, had voiced concerns about the location of the site - in particular the proximity of the pebble mosaic.

In addition to the memorial - a Portland stone structure incorporating a cross with a Celtic knotwork circle between its arms and a dove incised into the centre and 12 rows of sandbags inscribed with the names of the local men who died in two World Wars - the scheme included a noticeboard and six planters.

But planning officer Elizabeth Peeks' compromise of reducing the number of planters to just two was backed by councillors.

Mrs Peeks said the noticeboard and planters were considered to add visual clutter to an area which currently had a simple and uncluttered appearance.

Reducing the number of planters would mean the proposal would be in keeping with the surroundings and that the character of the conservation area would be preserved.

Supporters, who have spent more than two years fundraising, made impassioned pleas to the committee to give the project the go ahead.

Linda Hart, a trustee of the project and a Watchet town councillor, said people had been working passionately to give Watchet's fallen a place to be remembered.

She said the site had been in disrepair for years, with many of the surrounding railings missing and public benches damaged.

Project supporters had raised funds to repair and replace the railings, refurbish the benches and carefully remove rubbish and weeds from the pebble mosaic and the surrounding area.

"Respect is one of the group's mottos and these people who oppose these plans are the ones who up to now have not come forward to care for this area," she said.

Jenny Hill said it was a disgrace that Watchet had no memorial to its fallen.

"This will not cost the council or ratepayers any money - the money for it has come from fundraising," she said.

"This site would have been the last thing seen by people as they went to war and the first when they returned."

The project's chairman Robert McDonald told councillors that it appeared the main issue of contention was the protection of the pebble mosaic.

"It has been our intention throughout that the site must be protected," he said.

"We have conserved the area in preparation for when the memorial is put in place - we have repaired the railings and walls and stopped the damage that was being done to the mosaic by skateboarders."

Mr McDonald said people had walked on cobbles for hundreds of years without any concern for erosion.

"But I believe this area will be respected by all who use it," he said.

"The conservationists and the remembrance project group can co-exist and work together.

"I give you a solemn promise that we will look after and maintain the area.

"This will be a place for families to come and pay their respects and somewhere to remember the fallen."

But district council ward member Peter Murphy, who is also a town councillor, said many people had expressed reservations about the choice of the site.

He firmly believed in a public memorial to the fallen but the concerns raised were legitimate and people had a right to express their views without being labelled unpatriotic.

He urged councillors to back the compromise of reducing the number of planters, which he said would reduce clutter on the site.

The plans were welcomed by many councillors with Cllr Steven Pugsley describing it as "a jolly good idea" and Cllr Anthony Trollope-Bellew congratulating the project supporters who had raised funds to make it possible.

"It is time that Watchet had a war memorial," he said. "I think it will be a great improvement."

Some councillors raised the issue of an alternative location, with the Esplanade being suggested as a more suitable site.

But they were reminded by planning manager Andrew Goodchild that they could only consider the proposal before them.

Councillors also approved an application for advertisement consent for the noticeboard, although they suggested the glazing should be polycarbonate rather than glass.

After the meeting Mr McDonald told the Free Press he was absolutely delighted the scheme had got the go ahead.

"We are happy with the compromise over the planters - we don't mind a bit."

Mr McDonald said an alternative site on the Esplanade had been considered at the outset of the project.

But at the time plans for a bandstand on the marina-front walkway were in the pipeline, which was why the location had been rejected.

"This scheme is going to enhance the area and we are thrilled that we can now go full steam ahead to make these plans a reality," he said.

The memorial is expected to be unveiled in time for the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One next year.