FUNDRAISING efforts to officially unveil a blue plaque in honour of Brian Glover are underway.
Ronnie Steele, chair of the Brian Glover Blue Plaque group, is hoping they can raised £1,000 to pay for all the costs, whilst also fixing a date for the unveiling.
The group originally wanted the blue plaque to be placed outside the Civic Hall, as it was the place where Brian appeared as a professional wrestler.
However, the group were told there was a greater chance of success if they applied to have it attached at the rear of the theatre on Hanson Street.
Ronnie said: “Consequently, our representative put in this request but it was immediately rejected because ‘council policy’ is not to have any blue plaques attached to the Civic.
“When it was argued that the Charlie Williams’ plaque already provided a precedent, it was pointed out that this plaque was probably put in place without local authority permission.
“However, we were informed that we could still go ahead and make a formal application but it would involve paying a £100 fee and it was very unlikely to succeed.
“As our limited funds are made up of donations from the public we were not willing to risk other people’s money on such a gamble.
“Our group does fully appreciate that there are rules and regulations which have to be adhered to regarding the installation of blue plaques, especially on listed buildings.
“Despite this, many of our supporters urged us to petition the council but we have neither the time nor the energy to undertake this kind of tiresome lengthy process.
“We are very aware of the struggle the Kes group had recently in getting a suitable site for their statue.
“Therefore, we decided to abandon any hope of attaching our plaque to a council-owned building.
“Instead we approached the Chennells Bar on Wellington Street because it was there that Brian was filmed presenting a documentary in the 1970s eulogising his beloved town.
“The licensee, Craig Bristoe and owners Amber Taverns were delighted to have Brian’s blue plaque put up outside their pub.”
