Bereaved families at a Stockport cemetery are outraged they have been asked to remove gardens next to headstones.
Some of the gardens at Mill Lane Cemetery have been well-cared-for for more than a decade.
The council insists they are asking the owners to follow a policy they signed up to — and one the vast majority of bereaved families adhere to.
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One grave owner against the plan is Gaynor Bradburn, whose mum, Catherine Dace, has been buried in the cemetery for 14 years.
“This year, we got a letter which said ‘would we remove all gardens by October 29?’ and ‘if not our possessions would be removed’,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“We have minded the graves to a high standard. We had a meeting in 2018 [with cemetery staff]. They said every garden will be removed — it does not matter if it is tatty or well-kept.
“It is upsetting.
“We are just on pins. We could go over there and all our loved ones’ things could be destroyed.
“My mum’s garden has been there for 13-and-a-half years. I would be devastated [if it went].
“All we want is a little bit at the front which we would keep tidy.”
Gaynor, 55, accepts that some of the garden tributes are in need of removal due to a lack of TLC, but claims the majority of the gardens are well-kept.
However, council bosses are adamant they are just asking the grave owners to follow the same policy as everyone else.
The M.E.N. also understands several complaints have been made about the gardens to the council, which along with a need to re-turf the area, has prompted the latest push.
What the council has to say
“We understand this is an incredibly emotive issue – and our sympathies go out to all those who have lost loved ones,” Sheila Bailey, council cabinet member for Sustainable Stockport, said in a statement.
“Over recent years at Mill Lane Cemetery, we have seen larger tributes, gardens or borders established at some graves. We understand that all families have their own unique ways of remembering their loved ones, and that personal items and ornaments can hold dear memories.
“However, many people have told us that they chose Mill Lane as the final resting place for their loved one specifically because it was a lawned cemetery and that the increasing number of gardens or tributes means that this is no longer the case.
“The original design of Mill Lane as a lawned cemetery is explained at the time a bereavement takes place and a family is considering Mill Lane Cemetery, and when a grave is purchased.
“The council has previously written to grave owners at Mill Lane Cemetery to ask that gardens, borders or ornaments be removed. Many people responded to this request when it was made in 2018. Since then we have sought to engage with individual grave owners where we know gardens or larger displays have been placed.
“Following this initial letter a number of grave owners did remove their items. We wrote again to those people who hadn’t removed items asking them to remove them by 29 October. As yet nothing has yet been removed from any graves without the grave owners' express permission.”
