Thousands of graves at risk of being removed as council carries out safety inspection |
Already hundreds of headstones in Earlham Cemetery have been tagged with yellow labels saying “warning unsafe memorial” by contractors working on behalf of Norwich City Council.
Bereaved families visiting their loved one’s gravestones have described the tags as creating a “sea of yellow” and called the council’s actions “disrespectful” and “unnecessary”.
Graves at Earlham Cemetery been given yellow warning labels (Image: Newsquest)
City Hall is planning to check more than 50,000 gravestones across Earlham Cemetery, Rosary Cemetery and some smaller churchyards within the next three years.
A spokesman for the council said many of the headstones which have been identified as unsafe were installed decades ago between the 1960s and 2000s and the methods used to put them in place were not up to today's safety standards.
He added many of them have shallow foundations and over time the natural ground movement and weathering may have affected the stability of the gravestones.
The memorials are tested using a "hand test" where up to 25kg of pressure is applied to the stones, which are then graded in severity.
The spokesman said the inspection must be done to keep staff, visitors and contractors safe in line with legal duties and industry standards.
But the authority has refused........