Today is the deadline to sign a petition to get Southampton City Council to invest some of its ‘£6.7m revamp budget’ in an historic landmark submerged in the harbour.

Whale Road Way Section and Buffer Pontoon, the large platform which stretches out into the waters by Southampton’s Royal Pier, was used to launch Operation Overlord – better known as the D-Day landings – in the Second World War.

The ruin, despite being a listed building, has been left to decay, half under the surface, and hanging on to the land’s edge by a rusting old walkway.

Historic England says: “It is a reminder of the prominent role of the City of Southampton in the preparation and launching of Overlord.”

A petition must garner 1,250 signatures before it can be discussed in a full council meeting. On its final day, this petition is still a long way off.

The petition asks Southampton City Council “to spend a fraction of the money already allocated to rescue this unique ‘heritage asset’, as the plaque on the dock gate reads in ‘memory of the men and women of the forces of the United Nations who sailed from this port during the great war against aggression to secure the freedom of mankind'”.

To sign, visit the Southampton City Council, and click on Democracy and then ePetitions.