Speakers switched off outside crematorium
F a m i l i e s h a v e b e e n l e f t "absolutely devastated" by a local authority's decision to switch off speakers outside a c r e mat o r i u m, a f u n e r a l director has said.
Glasgow City Council has ma d e t h e d e c i s i o n t o d i s - courage people from congregating outside Daldowie Crematorium in the east end of the city. It comes after what the council said was a "few instances recently where the Covid-19 guidance has not been adequately followed".
Currently, funeral ser vices are only limited to 20 people inside - not including the funeral director, venue staff or celebrant.
The guidance seeks to "discourage people who are not counted in the cap of 20 people from going to the funeral service and gathering outside the crematorium".
S t e p h e n Wa l k e r, o n e o f the owners of the independent Janice Stevens funeral director in Tollcross, Glasgow, arranged funerals at Daldowie nearby before the changes were made. He is
now having to inform the families of the new guidance.
Mr Walker said: "We got an email on the Friday (October 2) saying that as of Monday 5 October, Glasgow City Council were no longer operating the speakers to stop people from congregating outside and they were closing the doors so people didn't gather in the foyer.
A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council confirmed that the entrance do ors of Daldowie - and Linn Crematorium, which it also operates - will be "closed for the duration of each service and external speakers will not be in use".