North Mymms News: Parish council offers bench dedication and sponsorship

£200 for 10 years plus £50 for an engraved plaque

Bench at the Dellsome Lane open space in Welham Green
Image by North Mymms News released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

North Mymms Parish Council (NMPC) is giving local residents the chance to sponsor a bench in one of the council’s open spaces.

The local authority says its bench sponsorship programme is “a special way to commemorate the life of a loved one, celebrate the birth of a child, or mark a special anniversary/event.”

Bench at Gobions open space, off Jonas Way, Brookmans Park
Image by North Mymms News released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Choose the spot for your commemorative bench

There are five NMPC open spaces to choose from, including:

Gobions Open Space
Moffats Field (Bluebridge Ave) - also known as Moffats Open Space
Gobions lakeside
Welham Green recreation field
Hawkshead Road recreation ground

The parish council says benches are made from Iroko wood which is tough, dense, durable and similar to teak. The benches are 1800mm long and 650mm deep (about 6 foot by 2 foot).

Costs and conditions

Bench sponsorship costs £200 per bench for 10 years from the day the bench is placed in one of the open spaces. The plaque and inscription costs £50. Shared sponsorship is also available (five per bench) at a cost of £50 per bench for 10 years.

The local authority says the estimated lifespan of a bench is 10 years, but says that because benches are kept outside this timescale cannot be guaranteed.

“If after 10 years the commemorative bench is deemed to be in a good state of repair it may remain in the open space at the discretion of North Mymms Parish Council until it becomes beyond repair when it will be removed.

“The condition of benches will be regularly monitored by North Mymms Parish Council staff and if necessary, repair/maintenance work will be carried out as required.

“If a commemorative bench is considered to be beyond repair by North Mymms Parish Council it will be removed from the open space even if the bench is within the estimated 10-year life span. A replacement bench may be offered at the discretion of North Mymms Parish Council.”

Engraved plaque on bench at Gobions open space, off Jonas Way, Brookmans Park
Image by North Mymms News released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

NMPC says it will try to meet sponsors’ preferred areas for placement of benches, but this will be subject to availability as some areas of the five open spaces might be more popular than others. In such cases sponsors will be asked for their second or third choices.

Once installed in an open space the council says it would not intend to move the bench. However, if it did need to be moved or removed NMPC would advise the sponsor in advance.

Bench at Gobions open space, off Jonas Way, Brookmans Park
Image by North Mymms News released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Plaques will display a maximum of three lines of engraved lettering, consisting of no more than 25 characters per line including spacing and punctuation.

All wording will need to be approved by NMPC prior to it being placed on a bench. If any wording is considered inappropriate by the council, the sponsor will be contacted to discuss further.

Forms should be sent to the Clerk, North Mymms Parish Council, 1A Bushwood Close, Welham Green, AL9 7YZ, Hertfordshire, or by emailed to clerk (at) northmymms.org

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