This week I attended STC’s Estates Committee meeting. The main areas for discussion were over a new memorial garden, allotments and burial charges.
Memorial Garden
A proposal was received from a member of the Shifnal Town Council staff, to develop a memorial garden facility at Innage Road. The committee are also considering the proposal from Cllr Turner for a rain garden which had previously been approved there.
“Priorslee Road Cemetery now has a very limited capacity in regard to space within the grounds. Following instructions from the Estates Committee, we have approached the owner of the adjacent field and unfortunately they will not sell the land we requested.
There are a number of benches within the Priorslee Cemetery grounds, after speaking to contractors we can no longer place anymore benches as it is making it difficult for them to
maintain and cut the grass. The benches are the responsibility of the purchaser and over time they become unsightly if they are left unattended.
Over the last 5 years, we have received numerous enquiries about a memorial garden facility at Innage road, from relatives who cannot be buried with those already interred within St Andrew’s Churchyard as it is now closed. Some families may feel closer if they have aplaque near a relative’s resting place. It would also provide a link between St. Andrew’s Churchyard and the Priorslee Road Cemetery for those that have relatives interned at both sites.”
It was unanimously agreed that both proposals have merit and to ideally combine the designs within the original budget.
Allotments
Charges for allotments in Shifnal have not increased since January 2020, through the pandemic. It was agreed that this year fees would go up by the current Retail Price Index (RPI):
A proposal from a Shifnal Town Council officer was made to develop and improve the current allotment sites. During a litter pick I did with my children and the cub scouts, we were shocked at the mess around the allotments next to the Aston Street car park.
Councillors agreed to the following proposals to improve the area:
- Aston Street Allotments
o Fence around the allotment site to provide better security and to make the allotments look neat and tidy.
o Cut back hedges and trees to open the allotment site so tenants have more light which will allow they to grow their produce as some of the plots are too shaded.
o Continue to work with tenants to remove all discarded rubbish and broken gardening equipment from the site. - Priorslee Road Allotments
o Install new taps and a stop tap as the 3 on site are damaged and rotten.
Burial Charges
Sadly, one of the responsibilities of the Town Council is to allocate burial plots in its cemetary. As can be seen in the table below, Shifnal charges a lot less than other councils. The problem with this is that Shifnal has become an attractive proposition for people to obtain burial rights here from outside of the Town.
In order to stop this practice, it was agreed that non-residents be prohibited from obtaining burial rights, unless they meet certain criteria (for example where burial rights were purchased before the deceased moved outside the parish).
Edward Bird - Councillor for Shifnal South and Cosford 