December 18, 2013 12.38 pm This story is over 123 months old

Lincoln Tank Memorial gets planning approval

Moving forward: A memorial of Lincoln’s contribution to the World Wars received planning permission.

Planning permission to erect a tank replica on the Tritton Road roundabout in Lincoln has been approved.

The City of Lincoln Council approved plans by the Lincoln Tank Memorial Group to build a full scale replica of a Mark I tank, which would mark the city’s World War heritage.

The Tritton Road roundabout is near to where the real machine was first built by Williamm Foster & Co. Ltd in 1916.

The group needs almost £30,000 in funding in order to build the memorial, and has so far received donations from local business and individuals, as well as £10k from an international tank PC game.

The group is now looking to find a local business to build the memorial, ready to be unveiled in 2014.

A plan of where the Lincoln Tank memorial will be positioned, on the Tritton Road roundabout.

A plan of where the Lincoln Tank memorial will be positioned, on the Tritton Road roundabout.

Joe Cooke, Chairman of the group, said: “We would like to offer thanks to Phil Scrafton of Globe Consultants who obtained planning on the groups behalf, without his help we wouldn’t be as far forward as we now are.

“The hard work starts now! Plans will be finalised over the New Year ready to go out for tender.

“Ideally we would like the memorial to be made locally as the memorial is a tribute to Lincoln’s engineering heritage.

“We need a final push with our fundraising, ready (subject to production timescales) for the memorial to be unveiled next September to join in national commemorations for the hundredth anniversary of The Great War.

“Without the invention of the tank it is argued that the war could have dragged on into the 1920’s, costing the lives of thousands more soldiers on both sides.”

The sign, placed above the William Foster and Co. factory for a visit by King George. Photo: Lincoln Tank Memorial Group

The sign, placed above the William Foster and Co. factory for a visit by King George. Photo: Lincoln Tank Memorial Group