The impact of Covid on Tenterden has been underlined with requests to Tenterden Town Council for more memorial benches, in memory of loved ones who have died during the pandemic. These requests are in addition to those who are already on a waiting list for a memorial bench.
The council already looks after 95 memorial benches around the town, but has received requests for up to seven more. After consultation with Kent County Council, there are no more places available on the high street itself for benches and additional benches on the Recreation Ground as part of the re-ordering could take up to a year.
An imaginative solution was presented to the Town Council Monday, 12 April to meet the wishes of the bereaved as quickly as possible. The council has agreed to replace three of the more tired looking ‘existing’ benches with new ones in 2021, at a cost of £350 each. In each case, this would involve transferring the original plaque to a new bench and allow two additional plaques honouring the recently deceased to be added.