A 76-year-old woman says she is relieved to be able to visit the site of her late husband’s grave again after her local council lifted restrictions.
Newport city council yesterday (March 2) lifted restrictions banning vehicles from St Woolos and Christchurch cemeteries in Newport on weekdays which the council leader said was implemented after a string of health and safety worries.
The cemeteries will now be open from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and on weekends.
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As cemeteries were also closed for much of the pandemic due to social distancing requirements, Lilian Parsons said that by January this year she had not seen her husband’s grave at St Woolos for almost two years which was being prolonged by the closure to vehicles.
Due to Mrs Parsons being disabled and the cemetery being particularly large, she said it was impossible for her to pay her respects without access by car.
Cllr Jane Mudd told a council meeting in February that the decision to keep the cemeteries closed was made over concerns of collisions with heavy machinery and after a motorist nearly hit mourners at a funeral over the Christmas period. You can read about that here.
Cllr Mudd added that those who had difficulties in accessing the cemeteries without a vehicle could get necessary support, but a number of mourners said they had struggled to acquire any help.
Responding to the news of the restrictions being lifted, Lilian, whose husband Roger died weeks before cemeteries closed due to social distancing in the spring of 2020, praised everyone who signed a petition calling on the cemeteries to be opened.
She visited the cemetery on Wednesday morning with her son Nigel and later said: “We’ve had a lot of emailing councillors and seeing the MP about this and it has been a long battle. I appreciate what everyone has done to be able to get us back in when we want to go.
“If people hadn’t taken to social media and written so widely about this then I’m unsure this decision would have been lifted. I’m very grateful.
“You shouldn’t ever need to make an appointment to go to your husband’s grave. If you wake up in the morning and it’s a nice day you should be able to go as you please. I haven’t been able to do that for two years and I’ve had excuse after excuse. It’s been very hard.
“It opened yesterday morning and my son took me up and it was absolutely lovely to be able to do that again.”
On the decision to lift the restrictions Cllr Mudd said: “Safety for all those using the cemeteries was always our priority. Access for pedestrians and funeral corteges has been available throughout the week but vehicles were restricted to weekends, bank holidays and religious festivals.
“However, we always recognised that not allowing vehicles to drive into the cemeteries on weekdays caused difficulties for some visitors even though staff did try to accommodate those with mobility issues whenever possible.
“We have been committed to finding a solution and we’ve included additional spending in the budget to support improvements to the cemeteries.
“Staff have worked diligently to find solutions that mean that we can now allow vehicles to access the cemeteries on weekdays as well as on weekends. This will coincide with the start of Lent, an important religious festival.
“A relaxation of the restrictions over the Christmas and New Year period sadly led to some incidents that caused damage and could have resulted in serious injuries. We have also seen other examples of a minority of people driving and parking without regard for others or the sensitive nature of their surroundings.
“We would urge all those who do drive within our cemeteries to drive carefully and park respectfully. There have been times when vehicles have parked on graves, causing damage to grassed areas. This can be very distressing for other people when loved ones’ plots are treated so thoughtlessly.”
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