A PERMANENT memorial for road crash victims is being planned for Bolton.

Council chiefs are launching a consultation exercise on a proposed roadside tributes policy.

As part of plans being considered, memorials placed at the scene of accidents, such as flowers and photographs, would be removed after 30 days.

In their place, a monument or tree at a central location in the borough would become the centrepiece of a permanent memorial site.

Queens Park, Heaton Crematorium, Heaton Cemetery and the grounds of Bolton Parish Church in Churchgate are being considered as potential sites for the memorial.

Cllr Nick Peel, the council’s executive member for environmental services, said: “The sight of floral tributes and other mementoes at the roadside has become far more common over recent years.

“To some people they are a way of recognising and remembering that a tragedy occurred, but to others they are a distraction or an unwanted reminder that someone died in their neighbourhood.”

The new policy could also include imposing similar time limits on repeat memorials at anniversaries and the council keeping non-perishable items for 90 days, giving families the chance to retrieve photographs and cuddly toys often left at the scenes of crashes.

The consultation is set to start this week via the council’s Scene newspaper and its website.

All opinions voiced will help shape the policy, which will then go before the council’s Executive for approval.

The council then plans to produce a leaflet which will be given out to the relatives of road crash victims setting out its process. As plans are in the early stages, the finer details, such as who would enforce any new rules are yet to be decided.

Peter Molyneux, the council’s assistant director of highways and engineers, said: “The 30 days will be a notice period during which we hope the families would be minded to remove the tributes themselves without the council having to do so.

“We want to set out from the start what is going to happen and then we will deal with it in a very sensitive way.”

Although the consultation process is yet to start, campaigners from the Manchester branch of Road Peace, the charity which helps relatives of road crash victims, have given their backing to a idea of a permanent memorial.

Sandra Dutson said: “It is a very emotive issue. It sounds like Bolton Council is trying to approach it in a very sensitive way and any kind of permanent memorial is always welcome.”

Cllr Peel added: “We will treat each case separately but we need to have a broad policy in place. We know it is a case of balancing the needs of the relatives of victims and those of local residents.”

The survey will be available in the council’s Scene newspaper, online at www.bolton.gov.uk/roadsidetributes and from the consultation and research team on 01204 332012.

The deadline for completing surveys is June 15.