MARK TILDESLEY’S disappearance shook the town and the world back in 1984, and now a memorial bench in his name will be uprooted. 

In 1984, the seven-year-old attended the half-term fair in Carnival Field, Wokingham.

He never came home, and his body was never found. 

Six years later, an investigation found that the boy had been murdered under horrific circumstances by as many as four men.

Only one man, Leslie Bailey, ever served any prison time or admitted to the murder. 

He was killed in prison by two other inmates in 1993, just nine years after he, Lennie Smith, Sidney Cooke and an unnamed assailant had murdered Mark Tildesley. 

In the aftermath of the child’s death, a bench was erected just metres away from the spot he was last sighted, at Carnival Field. 

Now, some 33 years later, the bench will be taken to a new location, due to plans to redevelop the Carnival Pool site. 

Two Wokingham residents have written objection letters to the council to advise them about the memorial bench. 

Michael Clough said: “I note the Mark Tildesley memorial Bench has disappeared from the plan. Mark was snatched from the carnival on the site in 1984 never to be seen again. It is important that that bench is replaced somewhere on the site. (possibly the block of flats named after him.) 
Marc Bannister posted: “A ‘Mark Tildesley Clause’ should be introduced and enforced. This should state that: ‘A permanent public memorial to Mark Tildesley should be retained in a prominent position on the Carnival Field indefinitely’.

Discussions are set to continue over whether to move the bench, as the current position won’t do, due to the nature of the redevelopment works. 

The development plans state that the existing buildings on site, Big Apple Bowling, Southgate House and Carnival Pool Leisure Centre, will all be knocked down. 

In their place will be a new bus route, 55 new apartments, a pedestrian boulevard, a new leisure centre, a new restaurant and a library. 

This new bus route will run straight around the area that the bench currently sits on, meaning that it could potentially be misused and vandalised. 

The consultation comment in the consultation feedback form stated: “I have previously expressed my concerns about the ongoing memorial bench to Mark Tildesley.

“I did suggest that it could be moved to directly opposite the new entrance to the Carnival Pool on the Promenade. 

“I do like the alternative idea of rather than keeping the memorial bench where it is and sprucing up that area, to actually still move the memorial bench but to the piece of grassland and seating area between the totem sign of the Carnival Leisure Park and the Burger King, and turning that area into a memorial garden. 

“That way it would become more prominent.”

You can view the plans for the redevelopment here: http://planning.wokingham.gov.uk/FastWebPL/Documents/DocList.asp?AltRef=172012

Cllr Stuart Munro, executive member for business and economic development and regeneration, said: “The Council has no plans to remove the memorial bench from the Carnival Site, if the Phase 2 proposals are granted planning permission. 

“It is an important part of Wokingham’s local heritage and community. However, with the surrounding development, it is felt that this could be an opportunity to look at relocating it to an improved location, such as on the new promenade or as the focus of improvements to the green area by the entrance to the site and Finchampstead Road.”