A controversial headstones safety project that has caused anguish to families across the region must progress before the end of the year, a councillor insisted this week.
The Scottish Government instructed all local authorities to do remedial works at cemeteries to improve public safety, and Dumfries and Galloway Council is now halfway through a programme at 31 of its graveyards.
However, there has been a backlash from the public due to the standard of the work carried out by a Welsh-based contractor, headstones being broken, and lack of communication with relatives throughout.
Calls were previously made for the works to be halted for investigations to take place into the poor practices, however Councillor Andy Ferguson is keen to see the project resume.
Councillor Ferguson, chairman of the council’s communities committee, said: “There’s clear deadlines and a plan of where work will take place before the end of the year to ensure that our cemeteries, that so many people visit to pay their respects to their loved ones, are safe places.”
Communities committee vice chairman, Councillor John Martin added: “The teams carrying out the work will do so in a respectful and timely manner, and I hope that visitors to our cemeteries understand the importance of this work.
It was revealed 1140 headstones/memorials were dismantled and ‘socketed’ into the ground in 2020 and 2021 by a hired contractor.
This sparked a fury from upset relatives, complaints to the Ombudsman, and resulted in legal action being taken against the council for damage to headstones in Sanquhar Cemetery.
Following the tragic death of a child in a cemetery in Glasgow in 2015, councils across the country were tasked by Scottish Government to carry out inspections into the safety of memorial headstones.
It was identified that 31 of Dumfries and Galloway’s 215 cemeteries were high risk and work began on 15 of them in 2020.
However, work was paused in early 2020 due to Covid and other factors.
In response to complaints and the public outcry, big changes are being proposed when dealing with the remaining 16 cemeteries.
It is planned that relatives are written to in advance and, if lair holders cannot be reached, contact will be made with funeral directors or stonemasons to try and trace them.
Notification letters will also be sent to community councils, local organisations, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), and better signage will also be in place in cemeteries at least 28 days in advance of work commencing.
