Council comes to a memorial bench policy ‘solution’

Selsey Town Council has made a final decision on its contentious memorial policy.

In December, the Observer reported that dedications to loved ones on benches could be removed unless families paid £600 to renew their ‘ten year lease’ – despite having paid hundreds of pounds for them more than a decade ago.

This sparked outrage amongst holders of the memorial benches, who felt the introduction of a ‘ten-year lease’ was a recent ruling.

The policy was suspended pending determination of the issues raised at a meeting on January 16.

Providing an update, a town council spokesman said: “The council has had to consider its responsibility to act in the wider public interest as well as responding to the concerns of those individuals affected. We assert our ownership of the benches, providing them as a public amenity and insuring and maintaining them through public funds.

“We do accept however, in the case of seating sited prior to 2010, that those arranging memorials could not have expected them to be limited in time by policy.

“We have accepted that therefore these memorials will remain while the individual benches are serviceable and/or landowner permission remains in place. As a council we feel that this solution balances the interests of our taxpayers against those of the individual memorial holders.” Read more on our website.