Western Morning News (Saturday)
Parish clerk apologises in row over gravestones
APARISH clerk in Devon faced calls to resign from her job during a heated meeting this week – after she and a councillor toppled gravestones in the village cemetery because of health and safety fears.
Winkleigh Parish Council held its first meeting on Wednesday night since headstones that had failed a health and safety inspection were laid down earlier in the month by parish clerk Melanie Bickell and Cllr Alice Turner.
The incident sparked anger in the village and saw several councillors – including the council’s chair Angela Findlay – quit over how it had been handled.
Ms Bickell issued an apology following the incident and during the meeting Cllr Simon Hodgson, who took over as chair after being elected by the remaining members, said that it was clear that mistakes had been made and that next time there is an inspection, the situation would “not arise in any shape or form”.
The council voted to restore the cemetery using its own cash reserves as quickly as possible and at the minimum cost, utilising the skilled labour of the parish coupled with the skilled and professional services of the monumental mason who is qualified to confirm that the structures are correct.
Speaking during the meeting, Ms Bickell said that the correct procedures were followed and offered another apology for any distress that had been caused.
She said: “I do give my most sincere and heartfelt apologies for the distress and anger I have caused you by carrying out the cemetery inspection and failing to give you notice of what we were doing.
“I take responsibility for not giving the notice, and I can only apologise from
the bottom of my heart. I know you’re angry, and I know you’re deeply hurt, and I am very, very sorry.”
In answering a question on why nextof-kin were not notified, she added: “It has taken me two weeks to be able to identify half of the next-of-kin of the headstones.
“My naivety was not considering that the headstones would be in the condition they were because previous inspections have been carried out every year.
“I went there to do the inspection, not expecting to put any headstones down, let alone the number we did. Unfortunately, legislation requires us to take immediate action before we leave the cemetery.”
Cllr Turner also admitted that she was “unprepared” for the number of headstones which needed to be turned over and added that more notice should have been provided to the next-of-kin.
More anger was vented during the meeting which saw dozens of people turn up including some of the recently resigned councillors and next-of-kin of those who had their headstones laid down, with many demanding that Ms Bickell resign, saying that the cemetery had been left looking like a “bomb site”.
During a public discussion held at the meeting, former councillor Adrian Mercer, said: “Relationships between the council, councillors and the clerk could at best be described as fractious.”