Memorials at Warren Hill

Introduction

Memorial benches sold through North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) - No longer available

Memorial benches sold through NCC are the responsibility of the owner. This includes all maintenance repairs and cleaning.

North Northamptonshire Council has a responsibility to do regular visual inspections of the benches to ensure health and safety with its sites. If a bench has fallen into disrepair and is a health and safety hazard NNC has the right to remove the bench from the public domain. NNC will attempt to contact the owner via the post using the address details on record at the crematorium.

Unauthorised benches

Unauthorised benches brought to cemeteries or crematoria cannot be guaranteed to comply with health and safety standards. They also do not conform with NNC’s right to “lay out and embellish a cemetery in such manner as they think fit” (LACO, 1977).

For these reasons NNC will remove any unauthorised benches within its sites without warning.

As the benches are unauthorised NNC has no way of knowing the owner of the bench, therefore no contact can be attempted.

North Northamptonshire Council benches - existing

North Northamptonshire Council will provide adequate seating within its cemetery and crematorium sites for visitors to sit on should they wish to. These benches are placed at the Cemetery and Crematoria Managers discretion and are not to be relocated by the general public.

The responsibility for the checking, maintenance and repair of these benches lies with NNC. These benches are repaired on rotation between all cemeteries and crematorium. The order of this is decided upon by frequency of visitors to the site and the state of repair of the benches themselves.

North Northamptonshire Council benches - new

North Northamptonshire Council will provide adequate seating within its cemetery and crematorium sites for visitors to sit on should they wish to. These benches are placed at the Cemetery and Crematoria Managers discretion and are not to be relocated by the general public.

All new benches should be made of either:

• cast Iron legs and hardwood slats - for ease of repair by Kettering Borough Council carpenters
• recycled plastic (i.e London Road Cemetery) - for environmental reasons

The responsibility for the checking, maintenance and repair of these benches lies with NNC. These benches are repaired on rotation between all cemeteries and crematorium. The order of this is decided upon by frequency of visitors to the site and state of repair of the benches themselves.

Inspecting private memorial benches

Memorial benches are inspected annually by Bereavement services, on occasion by Grounds Maintenance and when a potential issue is raised by a visitor.

Benches are checked:

• to ensure joints are stable
• to ensure wood is stable

This is to safe guard the safety of visitors who may use the benches.

North Northamptonshire Council accepts no responsibility for the maintenance of benches which have been sold to private individuals or any other bench which has not been purchased through the authority. It is the responsibility of the owner of the bench to maintain and ensure the bench is safe and fit for purpose.

Any bench which is found to be unstable or in the opinion of the authorities employees is unsafe, will be removed from public areas and stored for 12 months. If the bench is not collected within this time it will be disposed of. Details will then be logged on the removed benches spreadsheet.