Memorial planned for all those who lost their lives to Covid-19 in Milton Keynes

The new Campbell Park pillar will provide a "safe and comforting place" for grieving relatives to visit, particularly during lockdown when other places are inaccessible, says the Parks Trust.

And when lockdown is over, a formal remembrance ceremony will be organised at The Rose to pay tribute to the dozens of local victims.

A Rose spokesman said: " The Cenotaph Trust, in discussion with The Parks Trust and Milton Keynes Council, want to create a focus for remembrance in the city...The pillar will provide a safe and comforting place for commemoration during this unsettling time."

Two more of the granite pillars at the The Rose will also be engraved this week, thanks to a fundraising campaign and a grant from the Milton Keynes Community Foundation.

One will commemorate Volunteers’ Week, which starts on June 1, and the inscription will read: ‘The best way to

find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others - Mahatma Gandhi’.

The other will mark World Refugee Day, which is on June 20, and this engraving will read: ‘People from around the

world have helped build this city. Milton Keynes welcomes refugees’.

Milton Keynes Cenotaph Trust chairman Debbie Brock, , said: "We are pleased to be able to add further pillars because the Milton Keynes Rose tells an evolving story about our lives as a community.

"We will celebrate the work of volunteers during Volunteer Week when their time, skills and care every day have never been more needed. We can demonstrate our welcome to refugees in our community on World Refugee Day commemorating the strength, courage and perseverance of refugees globally."

Debbie added: "The Covid-19 pillar gives people a place to contemplate what has happened during the pandemic and eventually when it is safe to do so we will support our partners to hold a ceremony to commemorate and remember. "

She has thanked partners at the Parks Trust and Milton Keynes Council and the Community Foundation for their support.

Council leader Pete Marland said: ‘I am grateful to the MK Cenotaph Trust for the quick consideration of a pillar dedicated to the Covid-19 emergency, and I have committed to MK Council funding that work.

"When the time is right, we will bring people together to properly dedicate the pillar at our remarkable MK Rose, holding an event to remember those who have died and thank all those who have served at such a tough time for the city."

The Rose contains 106 granite pillars of varying heights. So far 64 pillars have been engraved with dedications, leaving 42 for future inscriptions.