Work to clean and protect Machynlleth’s war memorial has been given the go-ahead by Powys planners.

Machynlleth Town Council had applied for listed building consent to allow specialist work to be carried out on the war memorial to clean it and protect bronze panels on the memorial.

That has now been granted by a Powys council planning officer, with the authority’s built heritage officer supporting the proposal.

The work, which is expected to take no more than two weeks, would see the memorial cleaned with super saturated steam, with repatination of bronze panels before they are treated with a wax to protect them.

A planning report said: “The built heritage officer has been consulted regarding the proposed development and noted that the granite stone is not to be steam-cleaned.

“The officer noted that the metal will be steam-cleaned to remove degraded wax and applied coatings and to sterilise the rough, calcareous stone of the memorial and steeped base.

“The officer raised no objection to the proposed works as detailed in the Heritage Impact Assessment.”

Cllr Michael Williams, who declared a non-pecuniary interest, told the planning department that the work was much needed.

He said: “It is quite clear that restoration work is desperately needed and, to ensure the integrity of the war memorial, should be carried out as quickly as possible.”