We visited ‘deteriorating cemetery so bad it’s disrespectful to the dead’

Cemeteries are sacred places – a space for quiet, reflection and contemplation. For families of the deceased, it’s important that cemeteries remain nice and pleasant places to honour the memory of their loved ones.

But one local family recently slammed the council over the ‘deteriorating’ condition of Witton Cemetery ^[1] – the biggest burial site in the city. The visitors said the cemetery was in such a state of disrepair it was ‘disrespectful to both the dead and their relatives.’

We went to investigate for ourselves – and this is what we found.

Christine Booth and their family have had a grave at Witton Cemetery since 1957. Up until the last couple of years they say it has been ‘beautifully kept’ – but they were horrified to find the cemetery in such a ‘poor condition’ on their last visit.

The smell of freshly cut grass greeted me at Witton Cemetery. (Image: Birmingham Mail)

“The last time we visited there were signs of vandalism, the roads and toilets were in a poor condition and the graves were becoming overgrown with weeds,” said Christine. “It looked totally uncared for.

“When my sister and I recently visited our family grave, the roads through the site were in a bad state of repair, and the litter bins did not appear to have been emptied for some time, with rubbish all around them. Verges around the roads, and around graves were very overgrown, and some of the grave stones had been knocked down.

“We could not raise our concerns at the office on site, as this is not staffed anymore. It was very disappointing to see how the site has deteriorated in that time. The present state of the site in general, shows a lack of respect for both the dead and their relatives.”

Parts of the graveyard had overgrown grass covering graves.

When BirminghamLive ^[3] visited the cemetery we found some evidence of disrepair – but we’re pleased to say the conditions weren’t as bad as we feared they might be. It’s possible that Christine and their family might have visited on a particularly bad day, but we found the cemetery to be in reasonable condition.

The first smell that hit me as I entered was the smell of freshly cut grass, hopefully an indication that work is underway to improve some of the overgrown grass Christine encountered. Parts of the cemetery were undeniably a bit overgrown, but the majority was nicely trimmed.

On the bins issue, I’ll agree that many were full – but most importantly – there was very little litter on the roads or by the graves. The roads did have the odd pothole or bump in them, but these were few and far between.

The toilets were all out of order with a cemetery – the only option was a portaloo.

What we can confirm is that the toilets were out of use and that the main office is no longer staffed – two issues which ought to be fixed as soon as possible. But overall, my walk around Witton Cemetery was very pleasurable and that while it’s not perfect, is certainly an appropriate resting place for the dead.

In response to Christine’s complaint, a Birmingham City Council ^[4] spokesperson said: “We are carrying out a programme of maintenance across our cemeteries and crematoria – with areas most in need of improvements being prioritised – while keeping sites open as normal to visitors, to ensure we can provide a safe and pleasant environment for all users.

“Significant improvement works were carried out at Witton Cemetery in February 2023 to address the worst affected roads. Whilst the grass cutting programme is on schedule at Witton Cemetery, the warm, wet weather is encouraging rapid growth for this time of year. Further works have been carried out at other sites including Quinton, Handsworth, Yardley and Lodge Hill cemeteries and Sutton Coldfield crematorium in the past few months.”

Have you been affected by this? Do you have a similar story to tell? We’d like to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing [email protected] ^[5]

References

^{^} Witton Cemetery (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^{^} Former gravedigger on life in city’s biggest cemetery – and why he’s never thought of moving (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^{^} BirminghamLive (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^{^} Birmingham City Council (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^{^} [email protected] (reachplc.com)