Turning in their unmarked graves? (From Thisisdorset)
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Turning in their unmarked graves?
8:00am Monday 6th September 2010 in Latest By Ed Perkins
“I DON'T mind dying,” someone famous once said. “I just don’t want to be there at the time.”
The subject of death always a sensitive one but there comes a point when you can’t avoid talking about it. And in Poole, because they are running out of burial space, that time is now. There are only 50 plots left in the town’s cemeteries where people can be buried. Which, to my slight surprise, could last up to a year.
It is a little disconcerting to find out that the plan to open up a new cemetery costing £250,000 has been shelved as a cost-saving measure. Have they got our priorities right?
We all know that councils face major funding issues but the alternatives being suggested in the short-term surely risk causing offence.
One option would be to pay extra to be buried in another council’s cemetery, such as one in Bournemouth. If you've spent years living in Poole I’d have thought many people would like the option of staying there when their time comes to depart, wouldn’t they?
Another suggestion is to squeeze in extra graves at the existing cemeteries, using the grassy paths and decorative area. In-filling sounds plausible… but the council should tread carefully in every sense of the word.
Finally there is the thorny option of reissuing or reclaiming existing unmarked graves. The residents of those unmarked graves may no longer have a vote but if it were my plot being discussed by the council, I’m sorry, but I think I would rather rest in peace.
Would I want my bones re-interred because of local authority cost-cutting? Excuse the expression... but over my dead body.
Morrigan says...
11:55am Mon 6 Sep 10
Families will NOT be told of the location and will therefore NOT be able to visit their ancestors resting place.
However, they will be able to visit what should have been their final resting place if they know which plot it was - although likely as not there will be someone else who is unrelated buried there - the Council having re-sold on the family plot.
It kinda makes a mockery of the phrase "final resting place". In Poole that means it may or may not be a final spot - depending on the whims of Poole Council and whether they would rather spend money on useless "icons" for the Borough or essential burying space.