Flooding crisis at cemetery

Arlesey Town Council faces accusations of neglect after the grave the body was assigned to at Arlesey Cemetery was found to be flooded.

There are now concerns about future burials at the cemetery following the funeral on Thursday last week.

The incident comes just nine months after the council was accused of not taking responsibility for the worsening state of the cemetery.

Geoff Page, a former member of the council said: “It was awful for the family, I know them and they were very distressed by the whole thing.

“The big question now is what will happen about burials in the future and also about the bodies that are already buried there.

“My father is buried there for example – will his body now have to be exhumed?”

Mr Page says the problems with the cemetery have been increasing over the last two years.

He added: “The cemetery was first built in 1996 but before it all went ahead hydrology tests and reports had to be carried out, though seemingly they were all satisfactory and it was decided that the land was fit for such a facility.

“But since then the water tables have obviously risen, especially last year and this summer, which of course saw a large amount of rainfall.”

Capacity has also decreased as a result of the problems.

Mr Page said: “Previously they were digging double depth graves in some cases but they had to stop and just put them next to each other as there was so much water.

“The problem is that the council has not dealt with the issue and just procrastinates constantly.

“They also need to be more open about what they are doing as this is very important to everyone who lives in the town.”

Following criticism that the council was neglecting the cemetery back in March chairman Nick Daniels said: “I can assure everyone that the council closely adheres to all of the rules issued by the Environment Agency.

“We work closely with a company from Bedford which monitors the site regularly and we also conduct inspections where we dig deep bore holes to make sure that the water table is not too high.”

Mr Daniels was unavailable for comment this week.

The public can attend an Arlesey Town Council meeting where the cemetery will be discussed at Arlesey Village Hall on Tuesday.

It starts at 7pm.