Grave Concerns over Regulating Flowers

Kentish Express 4th February 2010

The report on wreaths and flowers being removed from graves is somewhat distressing.

The article reports a mass of confusion from within Ashford Borough Council and in relation to their contractors

Cemeteries Officer Christine Smith is quoted as saying that no contractor has jurisdiction to remove decorations from grave sites.

Yet the head of Cemeteries for ABC states flowers and wreaths would be removed when they are dead or unsitely.

Paul Jackson alludes to changes made in the policy for maintenance of grave sites being made "some time ago".

One has to question how this regulation was implemented?

If it exists in the contracts for grave sites from a certain period, then, as a contract can preclude a time period, the contractors would only be able to remove from graves post that time.

Alternatively, the Council may have chosen to notify the families of the graves in place? However, this was clearly not the case.

As the graves in question were cited in 1979 and 1980, I can only assume they were prior to the regulation changes and the council failed to notify the families of the deceased.

A drop of common sense would be nice!
Does this time period extend to graves located prior to 1980 as the graves of Steven Brind and Ian Hawkins were?