Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report presented by Jim Staveley, Development Officer (Land and Communities), which sought approval of the proposed new Closed Cemetery Memorial Safety Policy and the associated programme of safety inspections in Council maintained Closed Cemeteries.

‘Closed’ cemeteries or churchyards were those which have been closed by an Order in Council and were no longer used for burials. As a closed cemetery operator and manager, Culture and Leisure Services was required to have systems in place to control the risks to their employees, contractors, volunteers and members of the public from cemetery memorials such as headstones and from other elements like trees, walls and paths. Responsibilities were set out in the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order, 1977 (LACO), Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 (HSWA74), and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999.

The main element in closed cemeteries requiring assessment and management were memorials such as headstones. Other cemetery buildings were not the Council’s responsibility, but remained the responsibility of the churches. This report focused on memorials because of the potential severity of the risk of unsafe headstones. Other assets that Culture and Leisure Services were responsible for included trees, boundary walls, footpaths and grass and these were to be considered in a separate policy.

Culture and Leisure Services have consulted with neighbouring local authorities, including Doncaster and Barnsley, to examine how they managed their closed cemeteries.  Poor execution of testing by some local authorities in the past highlighted the need to ensure that memorial testing was done in a sensitive way and was well communicated.

Ownership of memorials such as headstones remained with the family of the deceased and so there was a requirement to communicate with memorial owners and the community where memorials were found to require maintenance. Reasonable effort should be made to contact the family of the deceased. This may be difficult in the case of closed cemeteries where monuments typically dated from between 1750 and 1950. Only when there was an identified immediate risk of serious injury should action be taken without this step.

The testing of headstones could be an emotive activity if not properly communicated and the rationale explained. To avoid this and to ensure the work was done in a sensitive way, Culture and Leisure Services proposed to adopt the protocols used by Dignity plc for communication and inspections in Rotherham’s open cemeteries. These protocols were formulated by the Council’s Cemeteries Service prior to out-sourcing and were tested in 2005 by the Local Government Ombudsman, who deemed them to be fair and reasonable.

Due to the number of sites and headstones and the lack of specialist skills and machinery/equipment in-house, it was proposed that that Glendale Countryside, who maintained Rotherham’s open cemeteries, operated by Dignity for Rotherham Council, would be appointed to do this.  The estimated cost of this work was below the threshold set by Council Standing Orders requiring competitive quotations to be obtained.  Glendale’s operatives were experienced in all aspects of cemetery management and have particular experience in headstone testing in Rotherham. It was proposed that they would be contracted to test all headstones in the closed cemeteries, and also to make safe any headstone found to be ‘immediately dangerous’ (Priority 1) at the time of inspection, which would typically mean laying the headstone down.

Memorials identified as not an immediate danger to the public, but not fully stable may need action to make them stable in the longer term (Priority 2). Notices would then be fixed to such monuments and the grave owner requested to contact Culture and Leisure Services to arrange repairs. A follow-up inspection would be made within 12 months. If no contact had been made or repairs carried out on re-inspection, then the headstone would be made safe by laying down or dismantling.  Memorials found to be stable (Priority 3) would require no action. After initial testing and follow up inspections, all headstones would need to be tested again in five years time.

Laying down or dismantling of headstones had been identified as the most affordable means of making memorials safe and mirrored management on Rotherham’s open cemeteries, where grave owners (or other interested parties) did not present themselves to pay for repairs.

Discussion ensued on the sites of closed cemeteries and clarification sought on the one on Constable Lane.  Its status could not be confirmed and would be investigated further.

It was noted that those headstones that required attention following inspection could only be repaired by an accredited stone mason.

Reference was also made to the publicity material and press releases about closed cemetery inspections and it was suggested that the most appropriate local media notifications be considered for each cemetery in turn in consultation with the appropriate Area Assembly.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the proposed new Closed Cemetery Memorial Safety Policy be approved for implementation by Culture and Leisure Services.

(2)  That officers in Culture and Leisure Services be instructed to proceed with the commissioning of memorial testing in Rotherham Council-maintained Closed Cemeteries.