A CLERGYMAN has been told to move his cross or the council will move it for him.
Rev Edwin Clements, the parish priest for Hagbourne, Upton and Blewbury, erected the wooden cross at Churn Knob, an Iron Age burial mound, six years ago.
The 16ft cross marks the spot, high above Blewbury, where St Birinus gave his first sermon in 634AD, converting pagans to Christianity.
But the Vale of White Horse District Council has told Rev Clements to move it or face enforcement action despite the fact that he has planning permission for the structure.
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The row surrounding the cross started in 2003 when English Heritage objected to it being placed on a scheduled ancient monument.
Mr Clements maintained it was not on the mound but had been erected next to it.
However, heritage officers argued the cross was still within the monument area.
Following a site meeting in 2004 it was agreed the cross should be moved a further 100 metres from the mound.
Mr Clements then decided to mount a passive protest and left the cross where it stood.
With enforcement action looming, Mr Clements said he had no choice but to move the cross.
"We have to move it, or they will simply take it down. It will hopefully still show on the skyline and be visible from the area," he said.
Vale spokesman Nikki Malin said: "We can confirm that Rev Clements has been asked to move the cross by the end of May to outside the boundary of the monument, due to objections by English Heritage.
"If this does not happen, the council will have to consider whether or not it is expedient to take enforcement action to achieve the removal of the cross."
She added an agreed site had been identified, but the cross had never been moved from its original position.
A spokesman for English Heritage said: "It is a protected site in the same way as a listed building. Therefore you need to make proper applications to make alterations. In this case the cross was erected without that process being gone through."
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