WORK is well underway on the Burtonwood airbase Bolt of Lightning memorial at a new housing development in Warrington, which is set to be completed later this summer.
Designed by Peter Naylor and forming part of site street art commissioned by Miller Developments Ltd, led by Colin Graham, it will provide a very significant landmark, highly visible from the M62 motorway and will act as a permanent memorial to all the men and women, military and civilian, British and American, who served at RAF Burtonwood.
The memorial will be 22.5m (73 ft 9 ins) high and sit on a base 6.5m (21 ft) square. The P-38 Lockheed Lightning twin-boom fighter at the top will be 5m (16 ft) long.
Work started on site on April 14, 2025 and site works are now well underway with Traffic Management set up and excavation completed and for the substantial foundations which are currently being laid in the middle of the roundabout.
The components of The Bolt are due to be craned into place in late July, with completion currently scheduled in August.
The official opening ceremony is currently under discussion, but is expected to take place later in August.
The base under construction
More than 600 homes are being built at the site, together with shops, a pub and a hotel, and the planning consent, approved by Warrington Borough Council, included an obligation to provide a piece of public art recognising the history of the Burtonwood Air Base.
It is proposed that the lighting will be controlled solely by the astronomical timeclock function, which will operate automatically, based on the time of day, such as sunset and sunrise, geographic location and calendar date. It will operate one hour before sunset until midnight.
