ePetition details
Paddington Old Cemetery Opening Hours
1. Paddington Old Cemetery is a much loved green space as well
as a working cemetery. It is a place where local residents connect
with each other, visit their loved ones, walk with dogs, family or
on their own. It is open 365 days of the year and is part of many
people's daily routine, connecting them to others across the
community.
2. Most local residents are working professionals. Therefore the
most important access time is first thing in the morning before
work. Times chosen in the morning take into account civil
twilight
3. Local residents have been coming to the cemetery for many years. Some of the regulars will tell you how they remember bringing their now grown children here as children. Other will tell you about the different dogs they've owned who they walked in Paddington Old Cemetery. Some will tell you about the parents, children they visit regularly. Most will tell you how the early morning access is the most beneficial.
4. Over the last 24 months Brent have gradually restricted access to local residents in the morning- earlier last month they stopped access to all before 9am for a number of weeks. At the time there were rumours that this was due to complaints from residents in new flats overlooking the cemetery. Brent Council have since said the closure was in error.
5. Any changes were not been consulted with local resident groups-BEST, BRAT, QPARA, or the main group of locals involved with the cemetery Friends of Paddington Old Cemetery (FOPOC)
6. Through Brent's restriction of access to the cemetery, local residents have been displaced from their local green space, friend groups have been broken, and people's wellbeing is being negatively impacted.
7. If you asked visitors what they most liked about Paddington Old Cemetery they would talk about the beauty and the quiet peacefulness. When you restrict access- you create busy periods around 9am or just before closing time.. by lengthening the opening hours you stagger visitors which keeps the cemetery a beautiful quiet place.
8. If staffing is an issues to changing opening hours- trusted volunteers from the local community can be identified to help open and close the cemetery.
Who am I :
I'm a local resident who has been visiting the cemetery since 2015
on my own, with my dog and with my children. I've been involved
with FOPOC volunteering with several projects looking at saving the
chapels, litter picking, challenging the PSPO, or indeed helping
Brent Council keep the cemetery open to locals during the COVID
Pandemic as a volunteer opener/closer. I've been approached by a
number of angry regulars and I've been saddened to see friendship
groups which spanned a wide variety of age groups and interests
disbanded because their common meeting place is no longer
accessible.
If you are interested in being added to an email address database
held by me to keep you to up to date with discussions with council
on the issue of Paddington Old Cemetery Opening hours- please email
me with your name. pocregulars@gmail.com
Started by: Tamara Williams
This ePetition ran from 04/11/2022 to 18/12/2022 and has now finished.
153 people signed this ePetition.