New guidelines on Shrewsbury cemetery tributes
New guidelines are set to be agreed in the next few days for parents leaving tributes to their children at shared graves at a cemetery.
Shropshire Council is set to adopt a new policy for tributes placed on shared graves at Longden Road Cemetery in Shrewsbury.
Under the terms of the policy parents will be able to place no more than one non-floral tribute at the grave for each child buried there.
The cemetery contains 24 shared graves. Each grave contains up to 18 babies, and they were maintained by the local branch of Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) committee.
In 2014 tributes that had been left on the graves were cleared away by volunteers leading to a petition and the formation of a council review to outline a formal policy on the tributes.
As part of the new policy, all tributes, whether floral or non-floral, will have to comply with a number of principles.
They must not be likely to cause offence to other visitors, exceed a footprint of 10cm by 10cm and 20cm in height, or be made of perishable material such as fabric, including soft toys.
The rules state that they must also not include a naked flame, feature a helium or other gas filled balloon, and must not be made of material that can shatter – such as glass or china.
The tributes must also be placed either on the plinth of the memorial headstone, its base, or within the current garden area for bedding plants or as close as possible.
The policy is expected to be agreed by Councillor Karen Calder, Shropshire Council's portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, at a meeting on Friday.
