Plans for an archway to commemorate the Queen becoming our longest reigning monarch have received the support of councillors.

Members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee agreed to award the Friends of Greenhill Gardens a one-off grant of £6,000 to go towards placing a 'Queen Elizabeth II Celebration Arch' at the seafront entrance to the popular Weymouth beauty spot.

The grant will be funded from reserves already set aside for once-off projects.

The creation of an archway over the main Esplanade entrance has been an aspiration of the Friends since 2012, according to a council report on the proposed grant.

It was noted in the report that though the council is facing “significant financial pressures” the gardens are a “considerable asset to Weymouth” and any improvements to them “will benefit both the council and the community.”

The project is estimated to cost £15,000 and the Friends have already raised £9,000 towards it, with a £300 donation from Weymouth Rotary, a £500 donation from Weymouth BID, a private donation of £100 and a £1,000 donation from Tesco.

The rest of the £9,000 the Friends raised by holding quizzes and other events in the gardens.

At the meeting of the management committee at which the grant was awarded, Cllr Kate Wheller said that Greenhill Gardens was a “popular amenity” in the borough, and suggested the Friends of the gardens 
contribute greatly to the community.

She said: “They are very active. They have raised a lot of money themselves. It will take a lot more to get this last £6,000, which is why they have come to us with this today.”

Cllr Gill Taylor suggested that the Friends’ archway would make up for the borough’s omission in properly honouring the Queen’s milestone of 60 years on the throne in 2012.

Cllr Taylor said: “One of their objectives behind this was we had a diamond jubilee and we have never commemorated this in the borough.”

Discussion on the council report’s recommendation to grant the money was brief, with councillors soon coming to a vote and passing the decision to award the grant unanimously.