Martin Gautier, director of technical services for the Infrastructure Department, said that he had previously taken a relaxed view on the issue but that the situation had now got out of control.
‘When people initially sign up to put a bench in place in memory of someone, they sign an agreement with a clause stating that no adornments can be fixed to them,’ he said.
‘In the past it has never been a major issue, but in the last few years it seems to have really taken off.
‘Before, we took a relaxed view of it but it has now clearly become an issue.’
He added: ‘We are now instructing our staff to enforce the clause and to actively remove flowers and other items if they see them.’
Mr Gautier added that he had been forced to take the decision after the character of some of the Island’s beauty spots began to change.
‘I would like the public to understand that this is not something we have pushed for before but we need to make sure our coastal areas do not become graveyards.’
The department oversees the maintenance and placement of over 200 benches at a number of sites around the Island including those at Green Island and St Brelade’s Bay.
Meanwhile, St Martin Contable Michel Le Troquer also said that he had become frustrated with the number of tributes and often found plastic balloons and other objects attached to the benches in his parish.
‘I have not stopped it yet but it is getting to the point where I am going to have to,’ he said.
‘It used to just be on birthdays but it seems as if there are items on them permanently now.’
