What is going on at cemetery lodge?

Published on 21st August 2008 in Letters

Open letter to Goole Town Council

Sir - I made a 40-mile round trip to visit Goole cemetery on Saturday. I do this periodically throughout the year as the ashes of both my parents are interred there. Saturday was one of those 'special anniversary' visits: it was to mark my mother's birthday. As a result of this visit I would like to raise a couple of issues with you that I hope you will address.

Firstly, today was the first occasion I have had the need to use the ladies' toilet within the cemetery grounds. I was appalled at the neglected and dirty conditions I found. There were cobwebs all over; dirty, flaking paintwork; no lock on the toilet door - and, to top it all, the hand-washing sink was so dirty it was unfit to use and moreover there was no soap.

I would like to point out that other public places are heavily penalised for much less, so surely you must be contravening some health and safety issues. Needless to say I decided not to use a facility that did not allow me any dignity or sense of my basic hygiene needs being met. Quite frankly I do not know how you get away with it.

As mentioned above, Saturday was my mother's birthday. I took some flowers and made sure both her stone and my father's plaque were in a clean condition before I went to view the Book of Remembrance in the lodge. This is something I, like many others, can only do once a year, and each year I make the pilgrimage on both my parents' birthdays to do just that. Imagine how I must have felt when I got to the lodge door to find it locked. There was a car parked outside, and there were open windows in the residential part of the lodge, but despite my banging on the door I got no response. I talked to a very kind local resident who told me that it was her belief that there was no longer a resident caretaker in the lodge. This was disturbing and in my opinion not acceptable, but then she informed me that the lodge is being rented out to families. Obviously these families will hold no responsibility for allowing the public through the door to view the Book of Remembrance. As a country, have we stooped so low that we have to house families within a cemetery?

When I paid for my two entries within the Book of Remembrance, I did so in good faith and in the belief that each year on the dates of my parents' birthdays, I and my family would be able to view what had been paid for. This is clearly not now the case. I have paid for something deeply personal to me and my family, my sister and her family and other family members, and we have been stripped of the right to view the words that mean so much to us. Today can never be replaced, but my memories of it are now marred.

Was there any consultation with grieving relatives about the fact that there was no access to the Book of Remembrance?

Is the population of Goole aware of what is going on (or not) at cemetery lodge?

Are you still taking money from grieving relatives to pay for entries into a book that may never again see the light of day?

Saturday for me was an emotional roller-coaster, made even worse by the issues above. I am not sure if I am angry, upset, despairing, or grieving, but whatever it is, you are responsible for it. All this flies in the face of your claims about cemetery services on your website, where it states: "…The aim of the service is to offer a high standard of care and options, which enable enable (quoted as written on the website), clients to arrange a funeral which is meaningful to them and their family".

Whilst I hope this is the case in planning the funeral, where is the after-care that is meaningful to the bereaved and their families? There must be someone directly responsible for this decision about the caretaker which has resulted in the unhygienic conditions within the toilets and the distress of the public. There must also be an accountable officer paid from the public purse to provide a service that the public pay for and deserve. We do not stop being bereaved; we do not stop being families, we do not stop caring - obviously the council does.

S. E. Astle (Mrs)

Blow Row,

Epworth