Plans underway to build a permanent COVID memorial in Stoke-on-Trent
It's proposed to be built in a popular beauty spot
Plans are progressing to build a permanent memorial to Stoke-on-Trent citizens who died from Covid during and after the pandemic.
A potential site for the memorial has already been identified at Westport Lake. Talks have taken place with the city council and businesses and training organisations are also in discussions about joining the project as part of their apprenticeship programmes.
The project is being led by Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell and Lynn Jones MBE.
Lynn met with our Chief Reporter Adam Smith at Westport Lake to talk through the plans.
"It just feels like a place of therapy." she said.
"For us, the bereaved, it would just be a place where we could walk around the lake, have a cup of tea, and be together - and remember.
"The national one in London is a place I can go, it's so powerful. It's a place where I can go where other people understand what's going on, and how you feel. I want something similar here. I couldn't think of a better place."
It’s thought there were more than 1,000 people from Stoke-on-Trent who died from early 2020 onwards. The project aim is to secure funding and erect a memorial which relatives will be able to add their names to. The site will also be a place for quiet contemplation and remembrance, similar to London’s Covid Wall.
Former city Vice -Principal Lynne Jones MBE, who lost her husband to Covid during the pandemic, is heavily involved with the Wall project in London. She’s now working with Gareth to secure something permanent for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
Lynn is now on a mission to get the names of those who died so special plates and tiles can be produced for the wall. She's urging any bereaved families to get in touch with her or Gareth Snell MP to share the information, and is encouraging any creative minds to offer input in to designing the wall.
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