Flintshire County Council has recently completed a memorial safety inspection programme in the following cemeteries:
- Buckley
- Rhewl
- Bryn Road, Connah’s Quay
- Bryn y Grog, Hope
- Hope Old
Flintshire County Council’s priority is to ensure that any memorial is not in danger of falling over and causing injury to people visiting the cemeteries.
The inspections were completed as part of the three year rolling programme across all fifteen cemeteries managed by the Council. During the inspections a total of 255 memorials were categorised as high risk which represents only 3½% of the total number of memorials tested – which is a significant reduction in the number of failures from the last round of testing in these cemeteries.
As a result of these findings the Council will now attempt to contact all those registered grave owners affected, either via letter or by placing a discreet notice on each grave, prior to undertaking the work to temporarily secure lawn type memorials until such time as grave owners can arrange for them to be repaired.
Older headstones over 1.5 metres high including kerbed memorials which were identified as dangerous will be laid flat and a notice placed on the grave to notify the family why this action is required in the interests of health and safety.
The Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977 empowers a burial authority to take any action that is necessary to remove a danger that arises by means of the condition of a memorial.
Memorial safety inspections have been introduced by local authorities as a result of a number of serious incidents across the UK over recent years.
Throughout the inspection programme the Council has tried to balance the requirement to address the problem of unstable memorials with the need to be sensitive regarding people’s natural concerns in relation to this issue.
This remedial work will commence on Monday 20 June 2011.
Any questions regarding this sensitive matter should be directed to the Council’s Bereavement Services Office, Tel. No. (01352) 703360 or 703361 or 703362.
