The chances of now creating a permanent memorial to Dame Vera Lynn are uncertain.

Only a fifth of an initial £300,000 asked for has been donated via a crowdfunding page after nine months.

Meanwhile Dover District Council was turned down for government funding for the project.

The scheme, overall totalling nearly £30 million, includes creating an amphitheatre and statue at Dover Western Heights, just above the Grand Shaft staircase.

However the JustGiving page for the Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue Fund at time of publishing recorded just £59,284 out of a target for the first £300,000, or just 19% so far.

The statue overall is expected to cost £1.5 million.

Late last year the site landowner, Dover council, failed in its bid when applying for £26.5 million, for the amphitheatre part of the project, from the government's Levelling Up Fund.

A council spokesman has now said: "An application to the Levelling Up Fund was made by the council in June 2021.

"It was a highly competitive process and the bid was not successful in this round of funding. The council has received feedback from the responsible department and is considering this further.

"The next round of bids is expected in the spring/summer, and we will make an assessment on the Levelling Up Fund against the new criteria at that time."

The fundraising campaign was launched last June 18, the first anniversary of Dame Vera's death, aged 103.

The amphitheatre would be called Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Park and include a performance bowl for open air concerts to keep her singing legacy alive.

It would honour the sites's history as a former barracks and would also provide an outdoor venue for music, culture and entertainment.

A visitor centre, café, toilets, managers space, ticket entrance and restaurant are also included in the plans.

Sculptor Paul Day, whose work includes the Battle of Britain Memorial on the London Embankment, has agreed to design and create the statue.

Singer Vera Lynn was the morale-boosting Forces' Sweetheart during the Second World War.

She became synonymous with the cliffs in 1942 with her wartime song (There'll be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover.

It was a message of hope to the nation and the troops who left to fight on the Continent and who hoped to have the first sight of Britain when returning home after the war.

The project has been backed by Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke as well as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and actress Joanna Lumley.

MP Sir David Amess was chairman of the statue fundraising committee.

He was stabbed to death at his constituency in Southend last October and a memorial concert was held for him there on February 13, which also helped raise money for the statue.

A thanksgiving service for Dame Vera Lynn takes place at Westminster Abbey on March 21.

And on Monday this week the Royal Mint put out for sale a £2 commemorative coin for her.

It has the inscription We'll Meet Again, the title of her second most famous song.

Organisers of the Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue Fund have been contacted for further comment.

If you want to donate to the statue click here. https://dameveralynnmemorialstatue.co.uk/