CEMETERY COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Cemetery Committee held at 10.00am in the Cemetery on Wednesday, 24 July 2002. Councillor Fisk, Chair, presided over Councillors Auger, Lewis and the clerk. No members of the public were present.

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – none received as all members were present.
  2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Lewis declared a personal interest in minute 06 as an adjoining homeowner.

03 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The clerk confirmed that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2002 had been presented to the full Council meeting held on 28 February 2002 and subsequently adopted and signed at the meeting held on 28 March 2002. The minutes were therefore taken as a true and correct record.

04 MATTERS ARISING NOT DEALT WITH ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA – none.

  1. CORRESPONDENCE – none received.

  2. TO CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR EXCESS GRAVE SPOIL TO BE USED FOR BMX STYLE HUMPS IN ADJOINING PLAY AREA

Cllr Auger advised members of a request from local boys to build a small BMX area in the far corner of the play area near to the boundary fence of the cemetery. SKDC, as manager of the land, had agreed in principle but required the views of the Parish Council before giving the go-ahead. Members studied the area of land in question and the provisional drawings provided by the boys and agreed to recommend that

The Parish Council gives its consent to further evaluation subject to:
  1. A boundary of at least 7m is preserved around the edge of the site for safety reasons.
  2. Final details of the design and size of the humps to be agreed. No holes to be permitted whatsoever.
  3. Sufficient space to be left between the humps to allow the gang mower access to cut the grass.
  4. Construction of the humps to be supervised by members of the Committee.
  5. Use of the site to be restricted to no later than dusk or 9pm, whichever is the earlier, to prevent noise nuisance to the properties adjoining.
  6. Consent to be restricted to a pilot scheme to be reviewed after three months with it understood that if problems arise from the use of the site then the humps will be removed.

  1. CEMETERY INSPECTION

The Committee was generally satisfied with the overall condition of the cemeteries and noted that there had been a significant improvement in recent weeks. It was noted that repairs to fencing were still outstanding but that orders had been made.

Members considered a problem due to the height of the ground around the base of the large sequoia tree, which was causing nuisance to the neighbouring homeowner. It was agreed to recommend that

There is no action the Parish Council can take to reduce the height of the ground without damaging the tree’s roots and that the homeowner should consider raising the height of the boundary fence, using trellis, to prevent children from throwing cones and other debris in the garden.

It was noted that the cemetery shed had been removed and the area needs some remedial work to clear nettles and elder. It was agreed to recommend that

Huddlestone Landscapes is asked to clear the area and plant six – eight berberis shrubs to improve the general appearance and prevent children from playing in this secluded area.

During the course of the inspection it was noted that some graves in the new cemetery had been planted with shrubs and that other had containers of plants, which was felt to be contrary to the rules of this section and made ground maintenance difficult. It was agreed to recommend that

The Council is asked to confirm its intentions that only approved headstones are permitted on the grave surface and that the Parish Council could request the removal any other objects.

08 DATE OF NEXT MEETING - to be advised in due course.

The meeting closed at 10.45am.