CAN I say on behalf of all the councillors a big thank you to John Hannides, Conservative councillor Bassett ward, for his presentation to the full council on the way forward for the much-awaited Spitfire Memorial for Mayflower Park when it’s redeveloped in the near future.

The funds for this memorial will hopefully be donated by other interested parties so that the much strapped civic purse is not delved into too much.

The project needs to raise in excess of £3.3m to reach fruitition.

It’s not just a war memorial, it’s a memorial to the designer R J Mitchell and all the people who built, gave their lives for and flew this iconic flying machine so hopefully the businesses and peoples of the world can get behind this much awaited project and lift it off the ground.

BOB PAINTON, Conservative councillor Swaythling ward, Southampton.