Canley cemetery expansion threatens trees and hedgerow

[dutchman]

A row of trees and bushes that screen a cemetery from a main road could be removed to make way for 1,200 new graves.



Coventry City Council said it would replace them with a new row of trees at the Canley Garden cemetery, but some people living nearby have objected.

The authority said the alternative would be to spend £1m extending the Lentons Lane cemetery instead.

Expanding the Canley Garden cemetery would cost about £100,000.

The council said there was demand for 300 new graves a year, but that Canley Garden was full.

It described the row of trees and bushes as "overgrown scrub" and said that of the 166 trees in the border area, 124 have defects.

A survey of trees in the city, carried out earlier this year, said they were approaching the end of their "useful life" and that it was time to remove them.

People living opposite the cemetery on Charter Avenue successfully opposed the removal of the trees in 2003.

Resident, Lesley O'Connell, said: "They want to pull out what has taken years to grow, our only bit of niceness around here."

[dutchman]

Furious Canley residents fight plans to expand graveyard



Plans to expand the site of a graveyard have prompted outcry from residents in the part of Coventry.

Canley Garden Cemetery, in Charter Avenue, was a popular location for burials - but there has been no more space for new graves since September 2013.

Now Coventry City Council plans to create more space by moving the perimeter fence on Charter Avenue back to the tree line on the grass verge.

The suggestion has been met with a furious backlash from residents in Charter Avenue who successfully fought off similar plans in 2003.

Residents suggest the demand space should be met at Lentons Lane Cemetery, in Hawkesbury, instead.

A meeting for residents was held at Canley Crematorium on Tuesday evening and was attended by around 20 people.

Lesley O’Connell, who lives in Charter Avenue, said: “After we fought off the last case we were told they wouldn’t be looking at it again.

“How long can this keep going on? They sold some of the land at the site off for housing, they can’t have it both ways.

“I think it is very unfair, they have let residents down. We have been told one thing and they have changed their minds.

“At the minute we have lovely trees there and they are going to ruin our outlook.

“I don’t want to look out my window everyday at my husband’s and grandchild’s grave.”

The plan to create extra space at Canley, which will be enough for approximately four years, is set to be considered by cabinet on Tuesday, July 29.

The council says more trees will be added and a hedge will be planted to ensure the view for nearby residents is as green as it is now and maintain privacy for visitors to the cemetery.

Andrew Walster, the council’s assistant director for streetscene and greenspace, said: “By creating this space at Canley Garden Cemetery, the residents of Coventry will again have the choice to bury loved ones in either the north or south of the city.

“If approved, the plan will be to plant the new trees and hedge this year so we can give them time to establish before we look to permit burials in 2017.

“Canley Garden Cemetery is a beautiful location. We will be respectful of its beauty and will ensure the planting works, inside and out, for residents and for visitors.

“This simple change will enable us to create space that will last for four further years. At a time when we only have one cemetery in the city with space, this is both a sensible and sensitive solution.”