HISTORIC Whiteleaf Cross, the chalk symbol cut into the hillside beyond Princes Risborough, could be restored with half a million pounds of Lottery funds.

HISTORIC Whiteleaf Cross, the chalk symbol cut into the hillside beyond Princes Risborough, could be restored with half a million pounds of Lottery funds.

Buckinghamshire County Council is applying for Lottery cash to bring the cross, which stretches from top to bottom of Whiteleaf Hill, back to its former glory.

Officially scheduled as an ancient monument, the cross is slowly sliding downwards, and disappearing under grass and scrub.

Countryside officer Julia Carey told a meeting of the council's countryside sub-committee on Monday that if the Lottery bid is successful, the county council would still need to put some money into the restoration. She hoped the work, which will take three years, will start next year.

Work would include cleaning the cross, clearing nearby woodland, and restoring the neolithic barrow which stands above the cross.

Councillor Bill Chapple (Con, Aston Clinton and Weston Turville) said: 'The consequences if we do not go ahead will be that the cross on the hill will not be there very much longer.

'It is gradually sliding down. We could even have to close the area because it is an unsafe structure.'

Cllr Alfred Plumridge (Lib, Stokenchurch) remembered: 'Many years ago, when I was a boy, you could see that cross for miles. It was a real landmark.'