'˜Atrocious' condition of cemetery criticised

The poor state of a village cemetery has come in for fierce criticism, with one councillor branding the current situation atrocious.
Chevington CemeteryChevington Cemetery
Chevington Cemetery

East Chevington Parish Council chairman Paul Claridge said that Chevington Cemetery is suffering from flooding.

At Monday night’s meeting, he said that the current situation is attracting a lot of negative comments from residents and he called for something to be done at the cemetery, which is run by Northumberland County Council.

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He said: “I am up there regularly and we are getting a lot of complaints about the condition of things up there. It is quite atrocious.

“There has been a flooding problem there for what must be two years.

“The county council has been making promises about putting in drainage but it hasn’t happened. They have been coming up with excuses that if they put in drainage they will contaminate the water table.

“We are getting complaints from families. It is not a pretty place to be at the moment.

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“It is nearly £1,500 for a double plot up there, but with the current conditions they can’t dig a double grave, it has to be side by side.”

Coun Claridge also criticised the state of the cemetery’s railings. He said: “I don’t think the railings around the place have had a coat of paint since they were put up. They are red rust.

“The maintenance of the place really needs to be looked at and I am sure that all of the residents would be very appreciative if we could do something.”

Coun Rev Sue Reilly added that there is a lot of mud on the paths, which she branded dangerous.

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County and parish councillor Scott Dickinson said that work had been done in 2014 to try to tackle the drainage problems, but conceded that the issue needs to be relooked at.

• Coun Claridge announced that he is not standing for re-election at next month’s elections.