THE brother of Chesham's best loved councillor Dr Arnold Baines, who died this year, has described an area of the town named after him as untidy and a mess.

Norman Baines, of Eskdale Avenue, Chesham, told the Free Press he wanted to see something done about the state of Baines Walk, which leads from the High Street to Chesham Town Hall.

He said: "I would really like something done about Baines Walk, it's a bit of a mess. It's a bad approach to the council offices at the moment - I'd like to see it tidied up a bit more than it is."

Chesham Town Council is set to consider a range of further lasting tributes to Cllr Baines at a meeting on Monday.

Recent ideas include a portrait and a commemorative bench.

Bernard Meldrum, vice-chairman of the Chesham Society, explained that the society was supporting a face-lift for Baines Walk.

He said: "It's a disgrace at the moment.

"It's a bit of a disappointment, it doesn't create an impression that fits Arnold.

"Arnold was a warm hearted, lively and knowledgable person, not cold and off putting like Baines Walk at the moment."

The Chesham Society wants to add a metal framework along Baines Walk to allow plants and foliage to grow in an archway.

Baines Walk is currently flanked by brick walls which have been rendered with cement.

It has been described as dull and has been targeted by graffiti vandals.

Cllr Baines, a former mayor of Chesham, and a Chesham and Chiltern district councillor, died after a long period of ill health on March 11.

Chesham town councillor Derek Lacey, who was a great friend of Cllr Baines, said he would like to see a head and shoulders bust created in his memory.

He explained: "I wouldn't like to see a seat - there are so many of them about.

"I think we need something special, because Arnold was a special man.

"We need something that will last a long time.

"The idea of plants along Baines Walk is very nice."

As a historian, Cllr Baines was highly respected among fellow Liberal Democrat councillors and opposition members for his council work and endless knowledge on the history of Chesham.

Cllr Baines was born in Chesham on October 4, 1921, and attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham before going on to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he gained a first class degree mathematics.

He was well-loved in Chesham and hundreds of people turned out to his funeral at Trinity Baptist Church, Red Lion Street, to pay their last respects.

Councillors will discuss possible memorials for Cllr Baines at Chesham Town Council's planning and general purposes committee at Chesham Town Hall at 7.30pm.