A lasting memorial to the Manchester terror attack victims is being created in Hyde Park.
A permanent flower bed in the shape of a bee will serve as a floral tribute, while a plaque will also be installed as a reminder that Tameside will always stand in solidarity and that those who tragically lost their lives will never be forgotten.
Tameside Armed Services Community (TASC) is working with schools, colleges, community groups and families affected by the attack to plant the sustainable flowers.
TASC applied for funding from the We Stand Together Fund and has now had the grant approved. Staff spent a weekend with students from All Saints College planting the cuttings for the flowerbed. They were excited to see the final outcome, which will contain over 1,000 plants.
Cllr Frank Travis, Tameside Council’s Armed Forces Lead, said: “The community response to what happened in Manchester has been remarkable and projects like this are exactly what we need to bring everyone together. We owe a very big thank you to the family of Martyn Hett who have had amazing input into the project after such a tragic loss.”
The planting scheme will take place in the week commencing Monday, 19 March, with the frame being put into place, followed later in the week with schools, families and veterans assisting in the planting of the bee.
Twenty two people died and around 120 were injured after terrorist Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb during an Ariane Grande pop concert at Manchester Arena on May 22 last year.
The worker bee is a symbol of Manchester that’s been used to unite people following the attack and raise funds.