Jet plans grounded
Plans to install a Harrier jump jet at a major gateway to Stafford town centre have been abandoned due to a lack of public support.
The aircraft was to move from its current site outside MoD Stafford at Beaconside to Gaolgate Island as a lasting tribute to the town's link with the RAF.
The former RAF Stafford base opened in 1939 and closed last year.
But the plans are set to be rejected at a meeting of Stafford Borough Council's cabinet on Thursday due to the apathetic attitude of the people the town.
Conservative councillors had hoped that the aircraft, used during the Falklands conflict in 1982, could become Stafford's equivalent of the Angel of the North. Plans were to put the Harrier, donated by the RAF, on block foundations and surround it by a 1.5-metre high fence and thorny shrub which would be floodlit and covered by CCTV cameras.
The project would have cost the Stafford taxpayer £20,000 – as well as maintenance costs – and had the unanimous support of the the cabinet, who believed it would help give the town a stronger identity.
Despite this there was some opposition from townspeople who believed the jet would attract vandals.
Councillor Chris Baron, of Foregate Ward submitted a petition to the council signed by more than 50 pensioners in a nearby sheltered housing complex objecting to the plans. The pensioners, from Foregate Court, claimed that floodlights would keep them awake and that moving the aircraft would turn the memorial garden on the traffic island into a "floodlit, razor-wire-defended compound".
'Falklands Gardens' on the roundabout was set up by cabinet member Trevor Reeves during his year as mayor, as a lasting tribute to all those who fought in the Falklands War, particularly those from RAF Stafford.
Leader Judith Dalgarno will recommend the motion that: "The proposal be not pursued any further in view of the absence of public support."
Maureen Compton, county councillor for the area said she was delighted the council was to abandon the scheme. She said: "This could have caused huge disruption to people living in the area and is a victory for common sense."
Mrs Dalgarno added: "In view of the absence of public support the proposal to position the harrier in Gaol Square will not be pursued. We are sorry to have to take that decision, I will make further comments at the cabinet meeting on Thursday."
