3rd February 2003

Dear Councillor,

As you are aware, Mark Whittaker and I, as The Marple Website, are keen to promote Marple, both in terms of its future success and, in ensuring that our past heritage is retained. With this in mind, and in view of the recent proposals for the improvement to the area around the entrance to Memorial Park, we wish to propose an addition to these plans.

We have recently written to the church authorities and The Head of Regeneration at Stockport MBC, with regard to the possibility of incorporating an existing plaque, currently in storage in All Saints' Church, in a permanent memorial to Samuel Oldknow (1756 – 1828). I have included a copy of the All Saints' letter for further information and background.

Our proposal is that a permanent memorial to Oldknow be incorporated in the plans for the improvements to the entrance of the park. This could utilise the plaque from All Saints', if its release can be obtained, or possibly a replica or alternative design if it cannot.

Samuel Oldknow was, without doubt, the most influential figure in the development of Marple as it is today, and the failure to acknowledge his achievements publicly is a major oversight on behalf of the community.

We have outlined many of these achievements in our letter to the church. We believe, as do many of the people we have spoken to, that the erection of some kind of monument to this great man is long overdue. The proposed improvements to the park entrance provide a unique opportunity to rectify this omission, at a minimum of expense, and we hope you will give your support to this idea.

We are at present awaiting a response from the church authorities regarding our enquiry and hope to speak to all relevant parties when this has been received.

We look forward to speaking to you on this subject in the near future.

Yours sincerely,