WORTH Valley parish councillors have said any new policy on personal memorials located in the countryside would need to be simple and consistent.

The Oxenhope councillors were responding to a consultation being conducted by Bradford Council on what kind of policy people would like to see introduced.

This has followed concerns that some parts of Bradford district, including the Haworth parish north of Oxenhope, are becoming cluttered with poorly sited memorials.

Oxenhope councillor Derrick Hopkinson said: “We don’t have much of a problem with this in Oxenhope, there are just one or two [memorial] benches.

“But it would be useful to have some sort of consistent policy, and there is an issue about maintaining these memorials. I don’t think the council should be responsible for that.

“I wouldn’t want any policy to be too detailed and restrictive, it would need to be simple.

“People should be encouraged to not just put in a memorial stone or bench, but to consider installing stiles and gates with plaques because that would also help with rights of way.”