HEARTBROKEN families have lost their place to grieve after an infant loss cemetery fell into “disrepair”, a charity has warned.
Baby Loss Retreat, which cares for grieving parents, revealed parents’ agony is only being further added to by the “state” of the garden, which has been covered with litter, vandalised and had broken bricks at Cambusnethan Cemetery.
Julie Morrison, who started the charity after her daughter was stillborn, said some families are opting to pay out of their own pockets for their children’s remains to be placed in cemeteries further afield rather than attend the Wishaw-based garden.
She told the Glasgow Times: “It’s absolutely disgraceful. It’s a mess.
“It’s right at the back of the cemetery and there’s no signs so if you’re coming in there as a bereaved family you’ve got the stress of trying to find it.
“The bins are filled with rubbish, the plaster is falling off the walls which means the babies’ plaques are falling off, people are coming in and vandalising it, and breaking the things families are leaving behind.”
She added: “Even the path is covered in mould. It’s so bad that people have been almost slipping.
“One grandmother called and said she almost fell while visiting her granddaughter.”
The garden has been within the cemetery since 2009 but it’s understood not much has been done to maintain or revamp it in the last 10 years.
Julie has now created a task force with parents to determine how best to tackle the situation and is working with North Lanarkshire Council.
Julie, who lives in Coatbridge, said: “The first thing people do when they’re told this is where their baby’s remains will go is go see it and, when they see the state it’s in, they realise that they would rather use another cemetery which takes them out of the area and adds another financial stress.
“We’ve managed to get a meeting with an architect to look at it but we want to see some action.”
North Lanarkshire Council said it was working to resolve the issue and a clean-up operation has already begun.
A council spokesperson said: “Some features of the memorial garden, such as the curved wall, require upgrading and we have been considering a number of options.
“We are in contact with Baby Loss Retreat to discuss ideas and ensure that families affected by loss are reflected in the work carried out.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here