A local council has stopped residents from installing any more memorial benches in the town amid concerns that it is becoming “overwhelmed”.
Hartlepool borough council has said it is not currently taking any new applications for benches, after concerns from residents that there are too many.
After carrying out an audit, it found some parts of the town in particular were “overwhelmed”, and that some of the benches were in poor condition.
A report found there were 115 memorial benches on the Headland, 112 on Seaton promenade and 48 in Ward Jackson Park.
“The high number of benches in some areas of the town has reached a point where it is not possible to install any more,” the report found.
“Seaton Carew and the Headland in particular are overwhelmed with benches. So much so that you cannot walk between some, and in other cases they obstruct access for pushchairs and wheelchairs.”
Maintenance of the benches is not the responsibility of the council, but falls to the person who installed it. However, council officers expressed concerns about a lack of records and the state of some of the benches.
The local authority has suggested attaching notices to the worst-kept benches, asking those responsible to repair them, or have them removed. If the owners cannot be found, the benches and plaques will be removed and stored for “an agreed period and then disposed of”.
The council has paused new applications until it can “fully understand the current situation and until suitable future arrangements have been agreed”.
It has also agreed to investigate alternative options for memorials, including benches with space for multiple plaques, steel “memory trees” with engraved leaves, and trees planted in public spaces.