Flintshire County Council is progressing its memorial safety inspection programme with the next phase of inspections scheduled to take place in Holywell and Bagillt Cemeteries during early April 2010.
Each memorial in these cemeteries will be tested using a consistent method. The inspections will be undertaken by an experienced contractor who has completed memorial safety inspections for a number of burial authorities nationally.
If a memorial is identified as unsafe but does not represent an immediate danger the council will arrange for a temporary support to be erected behind the stone and a notice will be placed at the back of the memorial to inform families what has happened, efforts will then be made to contact the families. If any memorials identified as unsafe are too large to be temporarily secured they will be carefully laid flat on wooden blocks with a notice placed on the memorial and where possible grave owners will be contacted.
It is important that the Council completes this work to ensure the safety of all who visit and work in our cemeteries and we would like to assure families that the council is very aware of the concerns the bereaved may have and the work will be completed in a respectful manner.
Further information on the Council’s Memorial Safety Programme is available by contacting the Bereavement Services Office on 01352 703360.
