A BRONZE plaque in memory of Warrington rock group Viola Beach, who died tragically three years ago, will be erected outside the town’s Parr Hall if planning chiefs give the go-ahead tonight.
The plaque, 2.44 metres wide and 1.83 metres high would be mounted on a free standing black metal frame on the pavement in front of the hall.
Officers are recommending the application – submitted by the borough council – be approved.
A report to be considered by the council’s development management committee notes that the site is designated as a conservation area but the principle of a memorial plaque is considered appropriate.
Although the memorial will be in a pedestrianised area, it has been designed so as to be extremely closed to the front façade of the Parr Hall to prevent any potential obstruction to movement.
The Parr Hall is a Grade 2 Listed Building but it is described as having a “rather austere external appearance due in part to its drab common brick.”
Although it is one of the town centre’s major cultural and civic assets, it has never displayed an architecturally vibrant image and the plaque will enliven the façade of the building, will not detract from its historical significance and will enhance the appearance of the conservation area.
The plaque will be bronze cast and its frame will be black powder coated metal sympathetic to existing construction materials prevalent in that part of the conservation area.
Viola Beach, which consisted of Kris Leonard (guitar and vocals), River Reeves (guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass guitar) and Jack Dakin (drums) and their manager Craig Tarry, died when their car plunged from a bridge in Södertälje, Sweden on February 13, 2016
The tragedy made headline news around the world.
An inquest in December 2016 said the exact facts of the tragedy might never be known, but all five young men died as a result of a road traffic collision.
All the band members had attended Warrington’s Priestley College where a Viola Beach Stage has been created in their memory.
In addition, a charity set up in memory of the band, holds the annual RivFest music festival, dedicated to keeping Viola Beach’s memory alive.
An image of the plaque
2 Comments
Many thanks to all, for the hard work, kindness and generosity, that has made this memorial possible.
We hope that the plaque brings a degree of comfort and also inspires future generations, that with a lot of hard work, tears, determination, patience, luck and skill; that every dream and ambition is a possibility.
May I also, take this opportunity to publicly correct, the misconstrued assumptions, that their is a joint charity, set up by ALL the families, in memory of the band.
I wish to make it perfectly clear, that none of the Dakin Family, have any personal interest or involvement, with RivFest, Vintage Viola or the River Reeves Foundation.
We genuinely wish the above, 100% success, but we find it a personal insult, that Jack’s name, image & association etc, are constantly linked to RivFest, the River Reeves Foundation and Vintage Viola, for financial gain, media attention & publicity purposes etc.
Warm regards,
Ian Piers Dakin – Jack’s Dad.
Just like Princess Diana – another British loss due to inadequate Continental crash-barriers.