Restored Balmashanner war memorial casts off its scaffolding

Forfar’s historic Balmashanner war memorial has emerged from its winter scaffolding cloak following a £140,000 restoration project.

The C-listed monument has undergone the repairs after engineers found the condition of the sandstone monument to be poorer than originally thought.

The scheme has seen galvanised metal straps put in place to tie the bartizan tower to the main structure, built to a design by TR Soutar between 1920 and 1921 as Forfar’s memorial to the fallen of the First World War.

”The main stabilisation and repointing works are now complete on site and the scaffolding has been taken down,” an Angus Council spokesman said.

”This will allow the hard landscaping works to proceed at the base of the tower which will give Balmashanner monument a much improved setting and make access easier to this listed monument.

”All the works are anticipated to be finished in May with an overall cost of approximately £140,000 from Forfar Common Good.

”This restoration project has been carried out by a local builder and supervised by council officers to a high standard which will safeguard the monument for generations to come.”