MAJOR repairs to a pair of Thornbury landmarks could leave the town £80,000 out of pocket.

The war memorial at listed St Mary’s Church as well as Mundy Playing Fields' paddling pool have been of serious cause of concern to town chiefs who have embarked on a mission to rescue the fast-deteriorating monument and crumbling children's shallow bath.

Town leaders have been considering quotes from various firms and estimate restoring the cenotaph's flimsy sandstone steps in time for the First World War centenary next year would cost up to £30,000.

The pool, which is breaking up, would cost between £25,000 and £50,000 to replace.

Cllr Clive Parkinson, told his colleagues, at a meeting of the town council on Tuesday (8): "The cost would be in the region of £30,000. The memorial itself is not in bad order. What is in bad order is the steps. We have no alternative but to go through with the project."

The council is hoping to apply for grants to offset the cost of renovating the disintegrating steps. Members will seek more quotations before making a final decision.

"It has come at an untimely moment in that there are lots of people in the country repairing their war memorials because of the WWI centenary," Cllr Parkinson added. "We all know what happens when these companies have a lot of work to do."

The memorial would need to be dismantled carefully and stored away while the steps are changed.

As for the paddling pool in the playing fields, water is seeping out of the shell and the border is crumbling, placing children's safety at risk. It ultimately would have to be blocked up if urgent repairs were not carried out.

Fitting a new fibreglass shell would cost £24,550, with a 12-month guarantee.

A second and much more costly option would be to opt for a very durable spray-on 'skin' at a cost of £50,000, with a 25-year guarantee.

Local residents and parents will be consulted on the plans and presented with a third option: replacing it with a water-play area.

"The paddling pool is well loved in town and around, added Cllr Parkinson.

"If we decided to move away from a paddling pool we would need to consult the town or at least parents. If we are looking at this sum of money we need to consider our options."