Memorials time limits come in for criticism

Council plans for a two-week time limit before tributes and memorials to mark someone’s death are cleared away have come in for criticism.

The proposals were described as “slightly disingenuous” by one scrutiny committee member while another asked whether they were necessary and warned the council’s cabinet to “take great care”.

They proposals would cover roadside tributes to crash victims – and benches and plaques and even shrines or memorials such as the one in Palmeira Square, Hove, after the attack in Israel on Saturday 7 October 2023.

Community representative Mark Strong told councillors that he was Jewish and said: “It’s not really being said but I’m assuming that a lot of this has been catalysed by what happened in Palmeira Square.

“That memorial was incredibly meaningful to a lot of people who lost relatives including local people who had relatives killed by terrorists on that date.

“It’s slightly disingenuous not to mention this. You talk about a sympathetic approach but you need to recognise people’s really strong feelings to commemorate an event.”

Others had no idea whether family members who were taken hostage were still alive and had held vigils there for them.

Mr Strong also referred to a line in the policy document proposing a “20-year wait after passing for commemorative memorials”.

He said: “Suggesting a 20-year wait for something like that is quite difficult.”

The committee was told that war memorials went up all over the country well within 20 years as members flagged up potential pitfalls in what some feared might be a prescriptive and bureaucratic approach to grief.

Labour councillor Ty Goddard asked whether the policy was necessary at all, saying: “How humane and human is this council in response at times to things that local communities want?

“I would warn you, not in a patronising way, but we must take care over this. Take it carefully. I think 14 days is daft.”

Councillor Goddard also said that a 20-year wait for longer-term memorials was too long – and other councillors agreed.

Conservative councillor Anne Meadows said that the families of the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy did not have to wait 20 years for a memorial.

She also said that 14 days or even 28 days would not be enough time for an informal memorial to remain in place.

Councillor Meadows said: “There should be discretion applied around the circumstances on each application.

“Thank you for considering ward councillors because we do understand the sensitivities around issues.”

Councillor Allen said that permanent memorials were put up within months of the death of the disgraced television presenter Jimmy Savile only to be removed just as swiftly.

Labour councillor Maureen Winder suggested a standing committee to include ward councillors where informal memorials were in place to discuss the best way to deal with them.

Labour councillor Amanda Evans, who chairs the committee, said that 28 days – rather than 14 – would be a more sensitive timeline for families experiencing a sudden bereavement because it would be a difficult time for them.

Councillor Evans said: “You’re asking them to instead go on the website and find some form or other and fill it in.

“I’m just thinking is that realistic? Is that going to happen? Is that what people are going to think of?”

Labour councillor Theresa Fowler, who represents Hollingdean and Fiveways, recalled the outpouring of grief from the community when the body of a baby, called Victoria, was found at the end of a national police investigation at the Roedale Valley allotments in March 2023.

She died while her parents Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were on the run from the authorities. The pair have since been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Councillor Fowler said: “It was really quite upsetting. Lots of people came. They left teddy bears and all sorts of things. But after a while it looked awful. The flowers died.”

She said that a tree was planned to mark baby Victoria’s death – and elsewhere there were other ways to remember people such as posts with people’s names on.

She cited the posts in the Chatsworth Park memorial, in Telscombe Cliffs, which she said was a peaceful place to sit.

The proposals were debated by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Tuesday 24 March).

Labour Jacob Allen presented the policy and said that roadside flowers after a bereavement would stay for two weeks under the proposals.

Should people want the temporary memorials to stay longer, he said, then they could contact the council.

He cited the death of a relative who died suddenly at a bus stop and said that a Brighton and Hove Albion scarf formed part of a memorial.

It stayed there for “years” and eventually added to the distress felt by some family members.

Councillor Allen, the cabinet member for customer service and the public realm, said that ward councillors would be involved with discussions about the length of time memorials stayed in place, particularly any that were politically sensitive.

He said: “We obviously understand, taking a step back for a second, that this is an area that has to be approached sensitively. This is a big bureaucratic council deciding where to draw the line on when grief should end.

“So we’re trying to approach this sensitively, compassionately and inclusively but in a way that is respectful to our public realm.”

The committee noted the report, with the policy expected to be reviewed before being presented to a future meeting of the council’s cabinet.