Wolverhampton cemeteries to be opened to visitors on Sunday after council review

Seven sites in the city remained opened for burials and cremation services only amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

It comes after Government chiefs called for cemeteries to be reopened for people to take solace last weekend.

Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment, said the authority had only received national guidance yesterday.

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Councillor Evans said: "Since the Government announcement, we’ve reviewed national guidance – which we only received yesterday – engaged with local faith groups and listened to feedback from local people.

"As a result, from Sunday, the council will be reopening all seven city cemeteries at Beacon Hill, Bilston, Bushbury, Danescourt, Hall Green, Merridale and Penn for general visitors, under strict social distancing rules, seven-days-a-week, between 4pm to 7pm.

"We are eager to get opening hours back to normal as soon as it is safe to do so but we need to remember that, during the current crisis, our city has been hit hard.

"Protecting public health and life, including staff who work at our cemetery sites, has to be our number one priority."

It comes after Wolverhampton North East MP Jane Stevenson wrote to council leader Ian Brookield urging him to open cemeteries.

Ms Stevenson saying it was "absolutely vital" families could grieve and that the council should open them at the "earliest opportunity".

Patrols will be stepped up around cemeteries to ensure no-one is flouting Government rules – with chiefs warning that the cemeteries could close again if the measures are ignored

"The decision to close cemeteries to general visitors was an incredibly difficult one, taken after we caught lots of people flouting social distancing restrictions," Councillor Evans added.

"From Sunday, we will have patrols in place to ensure visitors respect our cemeteries and government social distancing rules.

"If this doesn’t happen, then, regrettably, we will be left with no alternative but to close our cemeteries again.

"In the meantime, we would urge all visitors to be considerate and to observe social distancing measures."