TWO coronavirus memorial gardens are set to be built in Hampshire – and this artist impression shows what they should look like.

Last month, Westerleigh Group – the UK’s largest independent owner-operator of crematoria and cemeteries – announced that it will be creating a memorial garden to remember people who have died during the coronavirus crisis, at each of its 34 sites across the country.

Those include two sites in Hampshire.

The memorial gardens will be “tranquil places” for people to remember their loved ones, and gardens will be built at the Test Valley Crematorium in Romsey and the Wessex Vale Crematorium, near Southampton, in early spring next year.

Roger Mclaughlan, chief executive of Westerleigh Group, said: “These gardens will be tranquil places for people to visit and remember loved ones who died during the pandemic, and to pay tribute to those who sacrificed so much to help others who were sick, isolated or vulnerable.

“The centre-piece of each garden will be a stone monument surrounded by a floral arrangement representing a rainbow, which has become a symbol of hope during the pandemic. Many people have put pictures of rainbows in their windows during the lockdown, to cheer up passers-by and to offer a bright message of hope. Our rainbows will be created using the vibrant colours of begonias, petunias and geraniums.”

The stones at the centre of the memorial gardens will be made from all-polished black granite and is a typical traditional memorial for remembrance but with a Westerleigh change of design, and the memorials will be individually carved by Westerleigh’s stonemasons.

The team at each crematoria is now working to identify the best location within their grounds for the gardens.

Mr Mclaughlan added: “We are proud that all our crematoria have close links with their local communities, and we therefore thought it would be an appropriate gesture to create these permanent and lasting memorials.

“They will be special place places where people can remember and reflect on the loved ones they have lost, and give thanks to the wonderful way that the NHS, key workers and whole communities pulled together during this unprecedented crisis.”

As the project progresses, the Westerleigh Group will be reaching out to local communities to help shape and finalise the plans.