Press Release
Following our recent announcement regarding the sale of Hadley Cemetery Lodge, Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council would like to address some of the questions and concerns that have been raised.
The cemetery lodge had been neglected over a twenty-year period, with just £24,495.84 being spent on its upkeep between 2004 and 2019. It is estimated that the average yearly maintenance of such a building could be around £3.5k (1% of the value), which would total around £50-70k over 20 years). In-fact when the previous cemetery manager moved in, it was already in need of repair. In 2019 the new administration undertook that responsibility, and had the lodge renovated.
This was during Covid, when the council also spent a large amount on support for residents.
We are unable to share information around employment, due to the laws around this. However, we can confirm that over the last couple of years, many of the cemetery duties have been carried out by contractors or external partners. There are lots of rumours around this which are incorrect, but we as employers are unable to address them due to employment law. All work carried out in the cemetery previously, has always been under the guidance and supervision of the clerk, and the council, and we thank ALL previous custodians for their work there.
Multiple possibilities were considered, as to what to do with the lodge moving forward. However, the decision to sell was taken due to it providing the best value to residents, with a definitive payment and ongoing savings on the upkeep of the building, in comparison to potential rental income, and the legalities and risks associated with becoming a landlord.
The cemetery now has limited burial space. It is anticipated that there may be only 8-10 years more capacity, and once full the cemetery will go on to be maintained by the parish. This has informed the decision-making process around how the cemetery is run moving forward. The council believe it is no longer feasible to provide free accommodation for this role to be carried out, and is using other more suitable and cost-effective methods of security, like CCTV to monitor the cemetery. We ask people to remember that most of the councillors also have relatives buried at the cemetery, so it is just as important to them that this is done correctly, and to a high-standard.
Plans for The Chapel at the Cemetery
We would like to reassure residents that the cemetery will continue to be as well looked after and well-cared for, under the new cemetery management plan, as it has always been. We want to share one of the ideas we have around this and we will consult residents on this idea. The Chapel, is a lovely building situated in the heart of the cemetery. We would like to see this building used as the new Parish Office, meaning the Clerk to the Council and the Deputy Clerk would be on site at the cemetery during the working week. This will enable the Clerk to deal with any funeral arrangements and burials on-site - something that the previous cemetery manager had to travel between the cemetery and Hadley Community Centre to do. It would also mean that residents can access the parish office centrally, and possibly make a great community hub for small groups and councillor surgeries. We are looking to take the lodge - which none of our residents have access to, and bringing into use another - the chapel, that will be open and accessible to everyone.
This would also free up two further rooms at Hadley Community Centre - which is also in need of some overdue maintenance, and hopefully improvements like solar panels etc…, to make the building more useable and efficient to run. With the parish office no longer linked to Hadley Community Centre, there would be further possibilities around accessing grant funding for the centre, which is very difficult when the parish office is housed there.
There are lots of projects that residents have asked us to fund, for example Haybridge Avenue play area improvements, more CCTV, road safety schemes and improvements (like the road next to HCC), and lots more. These are the exact kind of projects the proceeds from the sale of the lodge will pay for.
We believe that it is the right decision to sell the lodge. To stop asking residents to pay for the ongoing maintenance of the lodge - free accommodation for one employee- and to put this money back in to invest across the parish for everyone.