RESTORATION plans for the Wellington Monument have suffered yet another set back as a funding application has been rejected for a second time. 

The National Trust has announced its huge disappointment that it has been unable to secure Heritage Lottery Funding to help save the monument. 

The trust says it will now be looking at other options for the future of the monument. 

Helen Sharp, project manager, said: "This is a difficult decision to receive and clearly a big setback for the project. We will, as we did before, want to talk to and work with the Heritage Lottery Fund to understand if there is an option to reapply.

"A very large number of people have taken part in helping us to get this far and we would like to thank them all for the support. We have brought the project to save the monument this far through our joint work and we want to build on those strong relationships and to continue to work together.

"The National Trust is an independent charity that looks after many special places. We have £1bn of conservation works to tackle in the next ten years and money to support projects such as Wellington is extremely limited so we need to look elsewhere for support.

"We were seeking a grant from the HLF that would have funded half of the £4m project. Because the HLF is the biggest funder of heritage projects in the country and one of only a couple of funders able to support projects at this level, filling the gap from elsewhere could be extremely challenging but we are looking at all options."

Bob Bowrah, Wellington Monument champion and Wellington town councillor, said: "We're all extremely disappointed. 

"There's been so much hard work put into it, by the National Trust, myself and the other champions, and especially Beech Grove Primary School

"The town and other organisations have been outstanding.  "We're looking at our options now to see what we can do."

The trust will still be going ahead with celebrations to mark 200 years since the laying of the foundation stone. 

The event will take place on Saturday, October 21, and will involve a performance by a group of actors and the illumination of the of the monument. 

During the day, there will also be a walk from the town to the monument, with the evening’s events supported by the Blackdown Hill’s AONB sustainable development fund. 

More information on the event is available on www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wellington-monument.