Overview

Selsey Town Council used Parish Online to map and track details of the Memorial Benches that are managed around the town.

Challenge

The Memorial Bench program had grown over many years with different staff being responsible at different times, each with their own approach to managing the program.  This had led to ambiguous and missing information requiring a complete review.  In addition, benches hadn’t been accurately mapped to enable the maintenance team to take a proactive approach to their upkeep.

Solution

We mapped nearly 100 benches via Parish Online adding their bench number, bench type, maintenance requirements, year of installation and purchase price. The bench number could then be cross referenced to the Memorial Bench Log which provided personal details of those who were remembered on the bench and the family contact details for internal use.

Benefits

This has enabled us to streamline our maintenance schedule on the benches by quickly identifying those that need work and their exact location (to the nearest beach groyne!) therefore saving time.  We can identify those benches that are due for renewal and pro-actively manage the waiting list therefore meeting community expectations.

Any damage to benches can be reported by members of the public who simply give the bench number (located on the side of each bench), we can then quickly identify the bench location, and family contact details to resolve any issues.

The number, age and value of the bench stock can be easily cross referenced to the Asset Register, ensuring accurate reporting of the Council’s assets and sound management.

Sue Osborne, Community Support Co-ordinator

All About Selsey Town Council

Selsey Town Council serves over 11,000 residents which rises to 22,000 during the summer months due to the location of one of the largest caravan sites in Europe within the town.  We are a historic fishing community which has recently been celebrated through the Sea’s The Day project.

Due to our geographical location and the size of the community we serve we have a fairly large officer body enabling us to provide services not delivered by other tier 1 Council’s.

We provide an award-winning community support service to vulnerable residents, an active memorial bench program, annual hanging basket program for key retail areas, High Street Christmas lights program, Community Grant Fund and Community Events Fund for local organisations to access.

Title picture © Simon Carey. All other pictures sent to us by Selsey Town Council.