Cemetery Safety Database
Inverclyde Council has compiled a complete safety database of the tens of thousands of memorials in its cemeteries.
The condition of each headstone has been recorded along with the date of the last inspection and any action or repair required.
Environment Vice Convener Councillor Jim Clocherty said: “We are all too aware of the tragic consequences that can occur if memorials become unsafe.
“The Council carries out regular inspections but we are taking that process a step further by compiling a comprehensive and complete database of all the headstones in Inverclyde.
“This will allow us to quickly identify memorials requiring further inspection or repair.”
Each headstone will have a visual inspection to assess its condition and will then be given a “hand test” to check if there is movement in the stone.
Memorials that fail the test will have a notice attached to them and the Council will contact as many grave owners as possible.
Any memorial that poses an immediate danger will be laid down or removed from the grave space.
Affected lair owners should ask for a written guarantee for the re-pinning of their memorial and also for new headstones from their chosen Monumental Mason.
Councillor Clocherty added: “With so many headstones dating back several hundred years it is clearly a massive task.
“Our immediate priority is to make sure that all our cemeteries continue to be safe.”
The grave owner or their next of kin are responsible for the memorial and have a duty to keep it repaired and in a safe condition. The Council has a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The Council recommends memorials are insured and regularly and professionally checked and maintained by an owner’s memorial mason to ensure it is safe.
Inverclyde Council’s cemeteries are:
• Inverkip
• Kilmacolm
• Port Glasgow
• Gourock
• Greenock
• Knocknairshill