Today I have written to Coventry City Council calling for urgent action to be taken at Lentons Lane Cemetary in Coventry. Constituents say that this is a situation that has been going on for multiple years...
We Demand a Referendum Now MEP Nikki Sinclaire has
today written to Coventry City Council calling for clarification on the
drainage at Lentons Lane cemetery.
Constituents have contacted Nikki, distraught at
learning that the site has problems with flooding. They say they have purchased
plots at this site without any warning of the drainage problems.
Comments on the online petition suggest that the
problem could have been occurring for as long as 16 years, and Nikki is calling for urgent action.
Nikki Sinclaire’s letter is below:
“I am writing to you following a letter from a
constituent who lives in Coventry, in regards to the Lentons Lane Cemetery.
This constituent is incredibly distressed at
the ongoing situation with this cemetery. I have been in dialogue with other residents
who have signed a petition calling for the flooding problem to be addressed at
this cemetery. Many of them tell me that this issue has been a problem for
multiple years, and not just the two years that was reported in the Coventry
Telegraph.
For example, take the following comment from
the online petition about this problem:
“my Nan passed away 16 years
ago & she was under water then & now mum is there passed away 3 years
ago & now she is under water I think it’s unfair for family's to see this I
always think my mum is in her coffin full of water”.
To have a situation seemingly ongoing for 16
years is shameful.
What I find more troubling is the fact that
cemetery plots are still being sold to people, many of them dying of
terminal illnesses, and they are not informed of the flooding problems
at the site before they choose to purchase a plot. Now this problem has been
exposed on a larger scale, they are incredibly distressed at what they have
arranged for when they have passed – they tell me they would not have chosen
this cemetery if they had been told about the flooding problems.
I have read that the Council are now looking
into this issue. However, I would urge that this work is accelerated and a long
term solution to a very distressing problem is found, especially considering
the amount of time that families have been distressed by this problem. With
poor weather predicted for the next few weeks at least, a solution needs to be
found.
Could I also ask why potential buyers of
plots are not being informed of the situation at the site? "