Confusion over cemetery CCTV breach liability

A council investigating planning breaches at a cemetery related to CCTV cameras is struggling to determine who to take legal action against.

Cheshire East Council has sent letters to both Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Cemetery Board informing them it was trying to find who was responsible for the breaches.

The town council and the cemetery board are locked in a long-running legal battle over who was in charge of the cemetery.

The breaches relate to two CCTV cameras being installed on the listed building, the removal of stone pinnacles, and work to the railings and gate.

Cheshire East's enforcement officer, Paul Douglas advised the town council in June that retrospective planning permission must be applied for within 28 days or the unauthorised development must be removed.

In an email to the cemetery board on 25 October, he wrote: "Obviously this is a breach of listed building consent and is also a criminal offence."

He said he needed to know who owns the building and the gates, "as these breaches need to be rectified", the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

asked the Cheshire East authority if retrospective planning applications had been submitted and whether enforcement action was being considered against the town council, the cemetery board or both.

A Cheshire East Council spokesman said it would not be appropriate to comment due to an ongoing investigation.

Middlewich mayor Simon Whittaker said the town council had neither carried out the work nor authorised it but as it was the burial authority it might be liable in Cheshire East Council's view.

A Middlewich Cemetery Board spokesman said CCTV was installed in January 2023 with no issues until someone contacted Cheshire East in July.

He explained members of staff had been attacked, punched, knocked over, abused both verbally and physically, and the cameras were "only meant to be a temporary measure".

However, "certain people forced our hand to make it a permanent fixture," he said.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said issues were flagged to local officers a few years ago and CCTV was suggested.

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