High memorial bench demand leads to restrictions

Some councils have restricted letting families install memorial benches due to high demand.

An audit by Hartlepool Borough Council found that parts of the town were "overwhelmed" by seats and it is currently not taking applications due to resident concerns there were too many.

Other councils in north-east England have also halted installing new seats.

South Tyneside Council said it had paused applications and Redcar and Cleveland Council and North Tyneside Council said they were restricting applications in certain locations due to the number of benches already present.

Although Hartlepool Council's audit was released earlier this month, it has not accepted applications for benches since November 2024.

The South Tyneside authority said it had not taken applications since last summer.

Labour councillor Ernest Gibson said this was part of a wider review into its bench scheme's "long-term sustainability, pressures on outdoor spaces and ongoing maintenance requirements".

Memorial bench researcher Dr Anne Karpf of London Metropolitan University said she suspected the popularity of the seats in the UK was due to a decline in religion.

She said mourning and grieving were not "mediated through the church as much" and benches were not as widespread in more religious European countries such as Spain.

She also said the seats satisfied a need for people to grieve in public, but also to celebrate loved ones.

"People want a physical space to remember and a place where people can gather," she said.

"I think benches, particularly those with inscriptions, are testaments to human ingenuity and creativity around death."

Redcar and Cleveland Council said there was limited space for some in parts of the town, such as Marine Parade.

"On these occasions we would work with the person donating the bench to find an alternative site or potentially look at alternatives such as a plaque on an existing bench or memorial trees," a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile North Tyneside Council said it was at full capacity for seats and had waiting lists.

Gateshead Council said as part of its consideration for new benches, it also assessed whether there was a "genuine need" for seating in that area.

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