Call for action over shocking state of cemetery

Martin Shipton

Six councillors have called for urgent action over a waterlogged cemetery that is caked in mud and looks like a First World War battlefield.

The state of the upper section of Maesteg Cemetery, which is owned and managed by Bridgend County Borough Council, has caused much upset to relatives of those who are buried.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 32 of the graves in the cemetery are occupied by people who were killed in action during the First and Second world wars.

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Drainage

A letter sent to the council by councillors Ross Penhale-Thomas, Chris Davies, Philip Jenkins, Malcolm James, Richard Collins and Martin Hughes states: “We write with reference to the upper portion of Maesteg Cemetery and its associated long-standing issues, namely drainage, access and aesthetics.

“The council will have been in receipt of complaints from local residents for some time, but was more publicly made aware of issues early in 2020. Further, local elected members have invariably lobbied on behalf of residents following regular complaints and concerns.

"Several site meetings have been held with officers and senior councillors and, at a public meeting held in July 2024, a commitment was made to secure capital funding for the improvements within that financial year.

“Five years on from the original public complaint, 14 months since the open meeting and a litany of briefings and assurances in between, it is astonishing that fundamental issues on the site persist, relating to adequate drainage and proper access.

“This has and continues to cause untold upset and heartache for those who are visiting relatives, and is hugely disrespectful to those whose final resting place should be of a high standard. Meanwhile, the council continues to be in receipt of monies and to charge residents for plots in a cemetery setting that is not currently fit for purpose.

“Residents and their loved ones have been let down. We are calling on the council to urgently outline the detail of the planned works at the cemetery; a date for commencement; and a timeline for its completion.”

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'Issues'

A Bridgend council spokesman responded: “We fully appreciate the concerns and views of residents on the well-documented issues that have been experienced in the upper part of Maesteg Cemetery, and can confirm that a number of improvements are being delivered at the site as promised.

“Engineers have completed work on the designs for both a new drainage system and a network of new pathways, and we have already installed new bins. The council has also made significant progress into arranging for a new water supply to be extended to the site, and for taps to be fitted.

“As the site remains fully operational with burials and interments taking place on a regular basis, the works have to be carefully arranged around all of this.

“A number of temporary measures have been introduced to help accommodate this, such as the installation of mesh matting which is ensuring that hearses and other funeral vehicles can access all plots at the site, especially during inclement weather. Once all of this has been completed and the available plots have been accounted for, we will be landscaping the entire site to a high level of quality.

“The council will honour the commitment that it has made to the people of Maesteg in full, and respectfully asks residents to be patient and bear with us as we finalise the arrangements for delivering these improvements.”