Welwyn Garden City's former mayor Dennis Lewis spends time with the newly-installed statue of Ebenezer Howard, who he has nicknamed 'Ben'.

Ben and I went for a lovely walk up and down Howardsgate this week.

It was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting, and Ben said that it was a great relief to be freed from that heavy disk pressing down on him! He is now upstanding and clearly visible to all those who live in or visit Welwyn Garden City.

Hearty congratulations are due to chairman Peter Waine and the Centenary Foundation, for creating this historic tribute to the man whose early vision of Garden Cities as 'a mix of town and country' over a century ago has been adopted and adapted throughout the world.

It was a singular honour to stand beside him and hold his hand - what a pity that Andrew Carnegie is no longer with us. It was his brilliant idea to honour our prescient founder, Sir Ebenezer Howard with a likeness, to stand and survey how his dream has become solid reality.

That reality has improved the lives of millions of people. And it is our responsibility to ensure that nothing damages, destroys or perverts what we describe as “The Garden City Ethos”.