Campaigners win battle to reopen cemetery gate

5:10pm Tuesday 20th November 2007

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Protesters who said a Kingston cemetery gate was closed secretly by the council have won their campaign to have it reopened.

The Dawson Road gate of Kingston cemetery had only been open on weekends and bank holidays as a trial measure since October 29 to deter drinking and drug taking on the site.

"It is a paradise for some people and antisocial behaviour should be dealt with by the police - not the council."

Councillor Steve Mama

The move had angered pressure group CemeteryWatch which accused the council of being "secretive" by not consulting grave owners and cemetery users.

Labour councillor Steve Mama also campaigned against the closure and said the cemetery was a "safe route to school" for King Athelstan and Hollyfield pupils.

However, at a neighbourhood committee meeting on November 15, the council voted to reopen the Dawson Road pedestrian gate and amend the opening hours to 8.30am to enable parents and children to continue to use the cemetery as a route to school.

Coun Mama said he was pleased with the decision as access to green spaces was becoming a Government priority.

He said: "It is a paradise for some people and antisocial behaviour should be dealt with by the police - not the council."

Steve Woodbridge, spokesman for CemeteryWatch, said: "We are very pleased and relieved about the decision by councillors to reopen the gate.

"If the council had been allowed to get away with it, CemeteryWatch believe it would only have been a matter of time before officers slipped through the closure of the other pedestrian gate in the cemetery."