Woman pleads with council not to 'chuck everyone's stuff away' as notice appears in Sheffield memorial garden

A sign has appeared in a Sheffield memorial garden warning visitors that ‘unofficial’ tributes to loved ones will be removed ahead of the ‘grass cutting season’.

Kim Cave, aged 60, has been visiting Hutcliffe Wood Garden of Remembrance, off Hutcliffe Wood Road, Beauchief, for almost 30 years where her family have a memorial bench and two plaques paying tribute to three loved ones.

But when she visited the council-run memorial garden on Friday April 5, she was shocked to find notices alerting visitors to the upcoming removal of ‘unofficial memorials’. She believes they were not there when she last visited, on Mother’s Day, March 10.

Kim, who lives in Chesterfield, said the wording of the notice was “brutal”, and “catching people at a really fragile time”.

She said: “It is absolutely brutal and appalling. You don't go to a garden of remembrance for a fun time, you go as an act of remembrance.

“You’re going to remember an anniversary of some kind, a birthday, the date of their death, or the date they got married.

“It’s bad enough for people who are going to remember elderly adults who have lived their life. What parents of children there would be feeling when they see the notice I don’t even want to start imagining.

“We go every couple of months, but some people might only go once or twice a year if you don't live locally. How are you expected to know that your belongings are going to be binned if you haven't been?”

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The notice, which is signed by the bereavement services manager at Sheffield City Council, says all unofficial tributes will be removed “in all areas of the gardens” after Monday April 8. This is to “enhance the look of the area and to keep the grounds maintenance staff safe”.

It suggests that visitors instead place cut flowers on the grass when remembered loved ones, which will be removed “periodically when necessary”.

Official memorials can be purchased through the council. A previous price list which was out of date as of March 31 showed prices for a plaque started at £230, while a vase block memorial started at £600.

It is not clear whether this is a permanent move, or if it will just take place over the ‘grass cutting season’ - but Kim says she has never heard of this in almost three decades of visiting the garden.

Kim’s family recently paid £1,500 to replace a memorial bench they had previously had for around 25 years. Beside the bench they have placed a ceramic pot where they neatly plant seasonal flowers to grow throughout the year.

They also have a plastic planter to hold cut flowers in front of two plaques.

“At the end of the day, people have paid quite a lot of money to have either these plaques or benches,” Kim said. “We don't own that land on which it is placed, but I think people expect to be allowed to place something that they wish to because of the fact that they've paid for those things.

“I don't think there's any issue with anybody saying the health and safety of those staff needs to be protected. Therefore give us guidance as to what is right and what is wrong - don't just chuck everybody's stuff away.”

UPDATE 11/04/24

In response, Sheffield City Council has said the signs were put up in the week commencing March 4 and chosen specifically to coincide with an increase in visitors on Mother’s Day and over the Easter break. The removal of ‘unauthorised memorials’ will be a permanent move to make the garden as attractive as possible for all users.

It added that all memorials removed will be stored for a period of time, giving people the opportunity to collect them. Official memorials are available for purchase.