A PLAQUE in memory of Viola Beach will be put in place in the heart of Warrington.

Band members Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe, River Reeves and Jack Dakin, as well as manager Craig Tarry, died following a car crash in Sweden while on their way home from the band’s first international gig in February 2016.

The tragedy sent shockwaves across the town and the music industry.

But their legacy continues to live on in the borough – and it will continue to for generations to come.

During Wednesday’s meeting at the Town Hall, the development management committee approved the council’s application for the erection of a memorial plaque on a free-standing metal frame in front of the Parr Hall, on Palmyra Square South.

The plaque, which will be bronze cast, is planned to be 2.44 metres wide and 1.83 metres high.

It will be mounted on a free-standing black metal frame, which will raise the plaque 0.85 metres from ground level, with the top of the frame to be 2.68 metres from ground level.

It was referred to the committee as the land is owned by the council.

Council officers confirmed the site is designated as a conservation area with the town centre on the adopted local plan.

They told the committee that the principle of a memorial plaque is ‘considered to be appropriate’ within both a town centre and conservation area and, therefore, accords with the site’s allocation on the adopted local plan core strategy.

The location has been designed so that the plaque will be extremely close to the front of the Parr Hall to prevent any ‘potential obstruction to movement’.

Officers also said the plaque would have no impact on the fabric of the building.

The plaque is to be located directly in front of the building and would be viewed against the background of the hall.

Although of ‘substantial size’, it is considered that the plaque would be ‘proportionate to the scale and massing’ of the hall and would not be detrimental to the building’s physical presence.