BCP Council closes Christchurch Cemetery due to record errors
The closure and subsequent investigation comes as the council discovered that one burial had been accidentally placed within a plot that had been purchased by another family
The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has had to immediately close Christchurch Cemetery due to missing information from the location’s historical data and records.
The council has reportedly launched an investigation into its records and the history of burials in the cemetery, which includes the use of ground-penetrating radar.
The news of the closure and subsequent investigation comes as the council discovered that one burial had been accidentally placed within a plot that had been purchased by another family, as a result of historically inaccurate records.
It is reported that further investigatory work has identified six additional plots with potential record anomalies. As a result, no burials have been undertaken within these plots.
The BCP Council only took over the management of Christchurch Cemetery from Christchurch Borough Council in 2019 as part of Local Government Reorganisation, alongside burial and cremation services in Bournemouth and Poole.
The council also assumed responsibility from the previous authority for historical data and records. It was only made aware of an historic records error at the end of 2021, with further checks raising concerns about other records dating back to “at least” the 1990s and possibly earlier.
Christchurch Cemetery remains open to visiting families with the only service currently suspended being the provision of new grave purchases for point-of-need burials, while all other services remain unaffected.
BCP Council said: “We are working with the families involved to achieve the best possible solution which respects their wishes.
“BCP Council is not responsible for historic records errors at Christchurch Cemetery, but on behalf of the previous authority, we acknowledge fully that these historic mistakes should never have been allowed to take place and we apologise unreservedly to the families affected and for the undoubted upset and distress that this situation has caused.”
They added: “As Christchurch Cemetery now falls under the jurisdiction of BCP Council, we have now taken full responsibility for this issue and we are working hard to resolve the situation respectfully and sensitively.”