Placing tributes – except flowers – on memorial benches on Barrow Council-owned land has been banned as part of a revision of policy.
New rules governing memorial benches were voted through by a meeting of the borough council’s executive committee.
Controversial proposals to stop people leaving items to honour loved ones were edited ahead of the meeting to allow for flowers to be left on seats.
However, the council says that floral tributes must not cover more than a quarter of the seating area of the bench, must not be wrapped in paper or plastic, must only be placed on the bench for a reasonable period or until the flowers die – whichever is the sooner, and must not prevent the bench being used as a seating area.
The council says it retained the right to remove the flowers if required to do so for the reason of good maintenance and/or public health and safety.
Further revisions to the council’s memorial bench policy include the stipulation that no new benches be allowed around the coastline of Walney due to the volume already in place and that new benches be made of recycled plastic rather than hardwood.
