Families call for action over run-down cemetery

Families whose loved ones are buried at a private cemetery in south Staffordshire are calling for urgent action to secure its future and improved regulation of the industry.

Essington Cemetery near Wolverhampton opened in 2019 with planning permission for 30,000 burial and cremation plots.

In November 2023, the business entered administration after creditors served a demand for £3.5m for failed loan payments on owners UK Cemetery Holdings.

Administrators Resolve Advisory Ltd told the BBC that a prospective buyer for the land has been identified and a sale is in progress.

The families have formed a campaign group.

They described piles of rubbish remaining uncleared, footpaths disappearing under overgrown grass.

Many said they had felt obliged to maintain the site themselves.

Burials are unable to go ahead while the administration process is underway.

Many families purchased large plots, which they are unlikely to be able to use if they experience a bereavement in the near future.

Jenna Probert's 12-year-old son Reece is buried at the site in a cremation plot intended for her family.

She said: "If I was to die tomorrow I couldn't go in there with him, I'd have to lay somewhere else and wait until I could join my son."

Michelle Proffitt's parents are laid to rest at the cemetery, in a plot which cost £2,500. Her husband Neil is concerned by uncertainty over the future of their contract with the site's owners.

"You come here to get comfort from seeing your parents, but it's a mess. We have been on our hands and knees cutting the grass. It's been a constant battle, " he said.

Adil Parkar represents Masjid-al-Falaah, a mosque in Aston, Birmingham which bought 650 burial plots two years ago, at a cost of more than £500,000.

He said the freeze on burials had had a massive emotional and psychological impact on families.

"We have elderly people who are unwell but don't know whether they'll be able to be buried here. They're disturbed and anxious," he added.

Local authority burial grounds are regulated under the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977 and the Local Government Act 1972.

However, there are no statutory provisions governing private cemeteries.

Warren Fisher is an independent councillor for Essington on South Staffordshire District Council. He called for greater regulation of private cemeteries.

"This could be a national scandal and this is just the first domino to fall," he said.

"The agreements families have about burial plots are with the previous owners. If a company goes into administration, there seems to be no regulation or consumer protection for them."

Samantha Curtis is a member of Essington Parish Council whose father is buried at the cemetery.

She says the families discovered via social media that the owner had gone into administration.

"It's put people through misery. I've seen an elderly lady here cutting the grass around her husband's headstone with scissors. People just want answers. "

The BBC has approached a legal representative of UK Cemetery Holdings and is awaiting a response.

The administrators, Resolve Advisory Ltd told the BBC that as the sale had not yet been completed, they were unable to share details of the new potential new owners.

"We recognise the need for an increased level of maintenance at the cemetery, especially as the seasons change, and this is underway,” the company added.