I was appalled to hear about the neglect of the memorial garden around Croydon Crematorium. Here is an email I have sent to Croydon's Chief Executive today:
Dear Katherine,
I am writing about the conditions at Croydon Crematorium.
Today I was contacted by a resident of my ward, who told me about the state of the areas around the memorials for her relatives, and indeed, around the whole crematorium. She said the grass has grown so long the memorials are inaccessible. Her cousin, who is in her 70s, tried to visit the grave of a relative earlier this week. The grass was so long it masked the uneven stones and she tripped, fell, and is badly bruised. She never got to visit the memorial of her relative. The resident raised this with the crematorium staff who agreed the grass is way too long and they are very unhappy that visitors have to wade through it. Apparently, a member of the crematorium staff today made a special effort to clear the area around the graves of the residents’ relatives.
I have to say, I find this shocking. The resident is dismayed that the Council has so little respect for the dead, and those that visit the memorials, that they have allowed the areas to be impassable. It seems the ‘meadowing’ policy, that was adopted because the Council was bankrupted by the current administration, has gone too far.
Please let me know what will be done to make the areas around the crematorium accessible so that residents can safely visit the memorials for their relatives.
Thank you
Helen
Cllr Helen Pollard
