Policy needed on council bench memorial plaques

Newtown Town Council has has no formal policy for memorial plaques on public benches after receiving several requests from residents in recent months, it has emerged.

The Services Committee will meet on 14 July to consider a specific application for a memorial bench in the Memorial Garden, but councillors face a broader problem - they have no clear rules on who can have plaques, what they should look like, or who pays for them.

Papers prepared for next week's meeting reveal the authority is dealing with "uncertainty regarding eligibility, design, installation, costs, maintenance responsibilities, and long-term management of memorial plaques."

The council currently owns and maintains benches across public spaces in the town but has operated without any guidelines for commemorative installations.

One application is already on the table for the Memorial Garden, but committee members will also be asked to instruct officers to draft a comprehensive policy to handle future requests.