Ward councillors have denied cuts were made to a war memorial garden after an action group hit out.
Ilford War Memorial Gardens Action Group had claimed it had lost council funding due to the axing of area committees.
But councillors Wes Streeting, Debbie Kaur-Thiara and John Howard along with the chair of the Royal British Legion at the Barkingside branch, John Coombes, visited the memorial, in Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park, last week and stressed the same level of maintenance will be provided this year.
They added they are exploring the possibility of receiving funds through the Heritage Lottery Fund to complement the garden’s £2,500 annual budget.
Ruth Clark, the chair of the Ilford War Memorial Gardens Action Group, said she welcomed the councillors announcement to seek more funding for the memorial and regrets the action group had not been invited.
Cllr Kaur-Thiara said: “My father fought in the Second World War in Burma. It is so important that we remember our heroes and as long as I am councillor, I would not consider the funding being cut.”
The War Memorial Gardens were granted the green flag award for the fourth consecutive year.
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