Vital work to conserve a village war memorial is moving forward.

Shepley Village Association are working with Kirklees Council to preserve the monument, which for several years has been blighted by flooding to a nearby path.

Andrew Scott from the village association said: ”For several years the base of the pathway up to the war memorial has been flooded and virtually impassable. The original culvert had broken in several areas and caused the water to force its way to the surface and flood both the path and woods.

“We have dug up the old culvert and created a surface stream which has solved the flooding problem and CTS have graciously offered to donate a large bridge to go over the stream and make the war memorial accessible again. We are also seeking a grant from the war memorials trust to create small steps up the side of the pathway to create better access for the elderly and disabled and a grant to resurface the memorial itself as well as one for a plaque to cover the period from 1945 to present day.”

Pennine Garden Centre has donated over £1,000 of plants for the war memorial phase of the project and the association is looking for cash from the Co-operative to fund oak sleeper benches on the path and around the village. Andrew added: “We have started re-populating shrubs and flowers around the memorial using plants donated by locals and Pennine garden centre and creating a wildflower meadow up the pathway. I have made the first bench and positioned it on the path to the memorial to show what I intend to make and the quality to aid with our grant application.”