‘Eyesore’ signs on graves slammed
Council erect safety notices to headstones Open day atfuneral parlour
A bereaved St Leonards couple has accused South Lanarkshire Council of being disrespectful towards grieving families – by erecting “eyesore” signs on dozens of headstones in Philipshill Cemetery.
Davie Thomas and Sharon McCallum told the News they were shocked to discover council safety notices had been stuck on around 200 headstones which had also been ‘propped up’ with wooden stakes and straps.
Mr Thomas was visiting his 12-year-old son Martin’s grave on Saturday when he noticed one of the signs on Ms McCallum’s brother’s headstone.
The council said yesterday that notices are issued where a headstone is “found to be unsafe” as part of an ongoing rolling programme of inspections.
Mr Thomas, 50, said: “There are notices on about 200 headstones saying they are unstable and should not be removed and some have stakes of wood placed in front of them on both sides.
“You can’t even read who is in the plot – and we’ve had no word from the council.
“Why were plot owners not informed about this total eyesore or a message put in the East Kilbride News?
“It’s hard enough to go down to the cemetery and pay your respects to a loved one at the best of times never mind seeing this. “It’s bang out of order.” The notice advises of a stability issue and instructs lair owners to contact the memorial mason to make the necessary repairs.
The council insisted it has a duty of care to provide a safe environment in its cemeteries.
Mr Thomas added: “The sign says if you don’t contact someone about it, the council will take the headstones down and lay them on the plot.
“It might cost folk hundreds of pounds to reset them.
“I understand this is after a wee boy was killed by a headstone but some of them are only a couple of feet tall. It’s disgraceful.”
Ms McCallum, 51, said she pulled the sign off of her brother’s headstone in disgust.
“It was a shock to see this and really disheartening,” she said. “I pulled the notice off and made a complaint to the council.
“To my knowledge, my brother’s headstone wasn’t that loose. But I think they’ve actually made it worse using a strapex machine.
“It’s totally wrong that people are not being made aware of this. It will be especially heartbreaking for older folk if they don’t know about this until they go down there.
“I think the council could have went about this a better way.”
The council’s head of facilities, waste and grounds services, Alistair McKinnon, said: “South Lanarkshire Council has a duty of care to provide a safe environment in each of our 55 cemeteries and churchyards for both the public who visit them and council staff who work there.
“As a result, as part of an ongoing rolling programme headstones are inspected for stability by fully-trained operatives using a ‘topple-test’ method, with around 20,000 headstones having been checked within the past two years alone.
“Where a headstone is found to be unsafe, lair owners are contacted in writing and a sign is attached to the headstone advising that there is an issue with its stability, and our initial advice is that the lair owner should contact the memorial mason who erected the headstone to look at the possibility of making a suitable repair.
“South Lanarkshire Council does not have the right or the responsibility to make repairs to headstones although, should the lair holder not make contact within the designated timescale, we will lay the headstone flat and cordon off the surrounding area or ‘trench in’ the headstone to ensure safety.
“The council advertises on notice boards at the entrance to those cemeteries or churchyards where inspection work is underway and, given that there are more than 60,000 headstones, it is only feasible to make individual contact with lair holders where a stability issue is discovered.” A new East Kilbride funeral home is hosting an open day this weekend.
The event will take place on Saturday at Hester & Lalli Independent Funeral Care on The Murray Square and is expected to run from 11am until noon.
East Kilbride MSP Linda Fabiani and South Lanarkshire Council depute provost, East Kilbride Central South councillor Collette Stevenson, will officially open the premises.
There will be short speeches, including one from Rutherglen and Hamilton West Labour MP Ged Killen.
Refreshments including tea, coffee, sandwiches and cake will be provided.