Agenda item

            The Committee considered a detailed report which provided an update in regard to the City Cemetery Heritage Project, the ongoing management of vandalism of gravesin the City Cemetery and finally measures being considered to plan and allow for the reopening of the Chapel at the crematorium.

            The Director of City Services provided an overview of the City Heritage Project, as follows:

·        contractor procured in early 2020 to deliver the capital elements, work commenced on site in March 2020;

·        a dedicated City Cemetery Engagement Officer appointed in February 2020;

·        restoration of some of the site’s listed assets commenced;

·        the new Service yard completed in December 2020;

·        construction on the site’s new Visitor Centre in February 2021, due for completion in early October 2021; and

·        the project included the delivery of a comprehensive interpretive and digital plan for the site, both of which were well underway.

            The Director advised that with the easing of current restrictions it was anticipated that interest in the project would increase dramatically over the coming months. During this time the project’s Engagement Officer would continue to maximise stakeholder engagement while the Project Team would continue to manage project delivery. She stated that it was envisaged that the project would be completed in November 2021 and she Director undertook to keep the Members updated as the project progressed.

            The Director then provided an overview of the recent damage caused by vandalism to ten graves in the Jewish Cemetery, located within City Cemetery. She reported that the necessary repair work was already underway to restore the damaged headstones.

            She also referred the various measures implemented and currently being considered which would hopefully help to mitigate the ongoing antisocial behaviour (ASB) issues, these included: 

·        increasing the height of the existing perimeter wall;

·        the installation of steel shutters;

·        the installation of automatic security lighting;

·        the installation of intruder alarms on all the yard's buildings/containers;

·        the installation of new CCTV cameras; and

·        the potential use of Smart Technology – Sparrowatch.

            Discussion ensued in respect of the installation of CCTV cameras and how any footage might be used to secure prosecutions in the events of ASB and vandalism.  The Director of Neighbourhood Services provided an update in respect of the CCTV policy that was currently being prepared by Legal Services and the Director of City Services provided a comprehensive update in respect of the strict legislation that existed around CCTV footage and its limitations for use. She advised that a further update on the potential use of the SparroWatch technology would be provided to the Members in due course.

            Following a request from a Member seeking the reintroduction of quarterly reporting in respect of vandalism to parks and cemeteries, along with repair costs, the Director of Neighbourhood Services advised that officers were currently looking at this, he detailed the lack of resources currently to commit to quarterly reporting and advised that this would be looked at within the context of the Open Space and Street Scene Project.

            A suggestion was made by a Member that the collection of data could possibly also be looked at as part of the customer hub. 

            In terms of the potential reopening of the Chapel at the crematorium the Director of City Services advised that, as part of the NI Executive COVID Recovery Framework, the Council were constantly reviewing the Covid regulations. She stated that with the easing of current restrictions, officers were currently planning for the recovery of the internal use of the building.

            She detailed that NI Coronavirus legislation and statutory guidance required venue operators to limit numbers attending funerals by risk assessment. An initial consideration of all the risks in the crematorium Chapel would limit numbers able to attend to approximately 20 mourners. The Crematorium Manager had assessed the building in terms of all the Covid guidelines. A limit of 20 mourners would ensure that attendees could be safely accommodated within the Chapel, giving due regard to social distancing measures and therefore reducing the risk of transmission of Covid-19. Enhanced cleaning between services and the application of risk assessment process would also be implemented to support the reopening, in addition the pews would also be temporally replaced with individual seating and it was also proposed that a webcasting service would be installed.  It was anticipated that this would commence by the end of June.

            The Members of the Committee noted the significant progress in the delivery of the City Cemetery Heritage Project, the ongoing work to address the vandalism of graves in City Cemetery and the potential reopening of the Chapel at the crematorium for mourners.