Government and councils need to respect cemeteries

It appears that The Burials and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 passed unnoticed by councils and public alike. (Graveyard space is running out on Mull, Oban Times June 21).

The Act seeks to address the issues faced on Mull. Burial lairs in Scotland were sold ‘in perpetuity’. The 2016 Act limits the time frame to 25 years with a possible extension for another 10. The council can then repackage the contents of the grave and rebury at a greater depth. The ‘restored lair’ is then available to be resold.

Scottish Borders Council (SBC) charge £1,034 for a two space burial lair. Using a generous 4ft10ins area for a grave, this amounts to £1,126,000 per acre. Farmland in the borders is currently available for £127,000 per acre. A nice little earner for the local authority.

There is controversy in Berwickshire where SBC has flattened numerous gravestones judged to be a public danger.

Councils retain ownership of the ground. They oversee the work of those who erect the monuments. Few of these headstones are a danger because of failure in construction. With time, the ground in a cemetery shifts and subsides. This makes the headstone move out of vertical and in danger of falling.

Our cemeteries play an important role in our lives. They are the places where we remember our loved ones. They record our history as a people and as a nation.

Ninety million folk worldwide boast of Scots in their ancestry. The tangible evidence of that is on the lichen covered names marking the last resting place of ancestors across Scotland. Government and councils need to respect our cemeteries, their emotional and historic significance. Death, like taxes, is one of life’s certainties. It should not be another profit centre for local government.