Prospective Councillor Mrs Susan Colley (Independent)

Standing in the Torre and Torhmohun Ward in Torquay in the local elections 2007.

I sympathise with those who have found their relative’s graves and headstones, damaged and broken by either vandals or grass cutting machinery.

It is the duty of the council to listen to all concerns and complaints of the residents of Torbay, and I would like to express my views on this particular issue:

• With respect to maintenance of cemeteries, I do not think that heavy machinery should be used where it would cause damage to headstones and graves.
• Relatives should be entitled to put plants and flowers etc on their loved one’s plots, any restrictions should be reasonable and publicly displayed.
• The Council should be responsible for repairs in the event that a council employee damages either a grave and/or a headstone.
• The Council have made attempts and should continue to provide preventative measures (i.e CCTV cameras) to dissuade vandals from desecrating graves and headstones. Cameras can also provide the Police with valuable evidence of who is responsible for any criminal damage.
• There should be an avenue or process to enable those with concerns about Torbay’s cemeteries to easily communicate them with the Council.

Contact details:

Mrs Susan Colley

Email: susie@healthplanplus.com

Tel: 01803 314600

Mr Graham Booth MEP (UKIP)

All of your points (Below) sound perfectly reasonable to me and I support them fully.  If we get some of our UKIP candidates elected in the local elections you can rest assured that they will do everything they can to push forward your requests.

Contact details:

Mr Graham Booth

Email: mrgrahambooth@aol.com

Prospective Councillors Mark Dent & Mike Simpson (UKIP)

Standing in the Cockington/Chelston and Ellacombe Wards (Respectively) in the local elections 2007.

We were delighted and proud to be present at your protest some years back, if you need any further help you know you just have to ask.

Thanks for contacting the UK Independence Party and asking our opinion on what we would do if elected. The answer is very simple and from the heart (I too have family laid to rest there)

• Respect our dead
• Look after the Headstones
• Respect should be show both in life and death
• Get this council working on getting our loved ones final resting place in a good state of repair

Contact details:

Mark Dent / Mike Simpson

Torbay UK Independence Party

07017 422022

Mark.dent@ukip.org

Councillor for Re-election - Ian Oxley (IND)

Standing in the Preston Ward in the local elections 2007.

Over the past few years,  it has been saddening to see the cemeteries within Torbay reduced from their once pristine condition to their present state of general desecration and neglect.

The grass in and around the graves never seems to be cut on a regular basis nor removed,  following cutting. 

Sever damage has been caused to headstones,  seemingly by tractors or dump trucks,  being driven into them,  without any care having being taken. 

In many instances,  headstones have been forced out of the ground and broken.  Thousands of pounds worth of  memorials dashed to the ground,  without any thought of the misery and sadness,  for the relatives and loved ones feelings,  when visiting.

Without doubt the damage caused to the headstones and memorials,  by council staff and machinery, should be made good by the council and the perpetrators of this damage,  brought to account.

Vandalism should be prevented by the continuous monitoring of all our cemeteries either physically, by CCTV,  or both.

In recent days,  adjacent to Torquay cemetery,  we hear of a special grassed and planted area for wild flowers being cut down,  after local people were encouraged to cultivate this project.

What a shock to the interested and dedicated people,  to find their endeavours trashed in this way.

This is one area of council negligence and  neglect that should be reviewed and rectified.  Qualified new management  and staff, which should be sympathetic to all of the cemeteries of Torbay should be employed.

Cemeteries, should be available, for all, in picturesque solitude and reverence,  for the relatives of the deceased to think of and remember their loved ones quietly and peacefully,  at all times..

Contact details:

Ian Oxley

Tel: 01803 553672

Email: heartofoak@freeuk.com

Web Site: www.ian-oxley.co.uk

Prospective Councillors Peter Lucas & Carole Lucas (BNP)

Standing in the Blatchcombe and Shiphay/Willows Wards (Respectively) in the local elections 2007.

It has come as a shock to see the distressing photos’ of the tyre tracks of heavy vehicles over the graves, and one can only lament at such moronic behaviour.

Obviously, the use of heavy material on such a delicate operation has to be a cost cutting exercise, as is the clamping of headstones, as opposed to mounting them properly. Clamping for public safety would be laughable, as with the palm trees etc, were it not related to such a serious subject however, there is an obvious answer to this. After an initial exercise to clean up the cemetery in general, a dedicated council ground staff would be employed to maintain the graves and surrounding areas. This would be far
cheaper in the long term than utilizing heavy equipment, driven by staff that are apparently not held accountable for their actions.

The council paying for the repair of the headstones is however another issue. One must remember that council funds are made up from local residents taxes, the majority of whom would abhor the desecration of a loved ones grave. Far more practical to install CCTV in the area and summons whomever is caught on camera to pay for the damage. A far heavier penalty than this alone should be meted out to the perpetrators of such a heinous crime however, irrespective of age.

Cllr Colin Charlwoods’ backing of the proposal to stop mourners personalising the area around a loved ones grave is particularly distressing, but much in line with the present council policy, the removal of the cross being much in the same vein.

We feel incensed by the actions, or lack thereof of the present council. We are standing in the local election, representing the British National Party, and we give you our word, that should we be elected, we will pressure other serving members to give this delicate matter urgent attention.
 

Contact details:

Peter Lucas / Carole Lucas

British National Party

peterclucas@hotmail.com