Plans to erect a memorial in Brechin to the ‘father of radar’ have taken a major step forward after the proposals cleared a major planning hurdle.
Angus Council’s development standards committee this week gave their unanimous support to the proposals — paving the way for a statue to be erected in Brechin’s St Ninians Square.
Once erected the statue will commemorate one of Brechin’s most famous sons, Sir Robert Watson-Watt, who invented radar and helped Britain to fight the Nazi menace in the second world war.
At the meeting that passed the planning application, Angus Council leader Bob Myles said the statue would be a strong addition to Brechin’s heritage and would recognise the massive contribution that Watson-Watt had made to modern life.
He said, “I’m fully behind this. There is nowhere in Brechin that has had a memorial statue to Watson-Watt before, and I think that it was remiss of our various predecessors that there has been no local recognition of Watson-Watt and radar before now.
“The Watson-Watt Society has gone to great lengths to produce a statue that both signifies his achievements and also commemorates him.
“I think this statue will be a good addition to the heritage and buildings of Brechin,” he added.
The news that the proposals have cleared the planning stage has been warmly welcomed by the Sir Robert Watson-Watt Society, which not only submitted the planning application but is also the driving force behind the campaign.
Members have hailed the planning green light as an important step in the push to raise vital sponsorship funds for the statue.
But they also stressed that there is still a long way to go before their £75,000 target is reached and construction can start.
Treasurer Brian Mitchell said, “This is a major step forward because we can now approach potential sponsors with something concrete. That fact that we have something ‘definite’ will help.”
Vice-chairman Stewart Hill added, “The statue is all dependent on the funds we can raise.”
Although it still has some way to go before reaching its goal, the society has enjoyed some success on the sponsorship front in recent times.
One local landowner has promised to provide stone for the plinth free of charge. There have also been offers of help from several local contracting firms.
To contribute towards the £75,000 target visit the society’s official website at www.watsonwatt.org