Roadside memorials to be regulated

A POLICY aiming to regulate the erection of roadside memorials is likely to be adopted by the Clarence Valley Council.

Clarence Valley Council wants to regulate memorials by the roadside, like this one near Arrawarra. . Picture: Debrah Novak

A POLICY aiming to regulate the erection of roadside memorials is likely to be adopted by the Clarence Valley Council.

A report from staff to the council's last meeting of 2011 said roadside memorials were becoming increasingly popular but their placement was unregulated.

The report said fatal crashes on council roads were emotional and more people were erecting a form of tribute.

But the practice was unregulated, meaning there was no control over what form they could take or who should be contacted if any issues arose.

"The size and location of memorials can themselves become a hazard and potential liability for council and can cause problems for council's maintenance activities," it said.

"The location of a memorial can potentially affect the local amenity and neighbouring properties."

The report said it would not be unreasonable for a policy to be instituted that was sensitive to the situation and involved a simple application process.

It would let the council have supervision over the location and form of the memorial and a record of who was involved.

The draft policy provides that:

•  Location of memorials to only be in the immediate vicinity of the site of the accident;
•  Only one memorial will be permitted in respect of each accident;
•  The location of memorials must not create a hazard or restrict access;
•  Memorials may not exceed a height and width of 300mm;
•  Memorials may be removed if they are considered to seriously detract from the local amenity or affect adjacent landowners;
•  Memorials are temporary and must be removed after 15 months from the date of the accident, this period allowing for observance of the first anniversary. If the memorial is not removed, the council can reserve the right to remove it without notice;
•  While consent to the erection of a memorial is not being required, the council should be advised of the proposal to erect a memorial and be given details. An application form has been designed for this purpose.
• Councillors, in their meeting last month, agreed to put a draft roadside memorials policy in place for 28 days and, if no submissions were received, adopt it.
• If there were submissions, these would be taken back to the council for consideration.

Originally published as Roadside memorials to be regulated