Campaign group rally to stop council toppling headstones

Families and supporters, deeply affected by recent actions, have called on the council to adopt different strategies to maintain the safety of gravestones.

Demonstrations took place outside a town council, with campaigners protesting the council’s practice of knocking over headstones in local graveyards.

On a Thursday morning, about 30 individuals from the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery group assembled at Renfrewshire House in Paisley to submit a petition, which had garnered approximately 1,600 signatures.

The group argues that there are alternative approaches to comply with the Scottish Government’s guidelines on headstones.

According to the council’s records, over 1,500 headstones in Renfrewshire’s cemeteries have been pushed over and left flat on the ground.

The petition demands that the council cease the practice of pushing over headstones and instead adopt methods used by other councils—such as staking, fixing, or embedding headstones deeper into the ground—to ensure the memorials remain safe.

However, officials insist on continuing their widespread practice of knocking down headstones, stating that other methods are not practical.

Many families have expressed their distress upon finding their relatives’ headstones knocked over.

Des Barr, Chairman of Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery, described the protest as successful and noted that the campaign received an overwhelmingly positive response.

He criticized the council for their aggressive approach in handling the headstones.

Des stated, “We fully endorse the Scottish Government’s efforts to ensure the safety of headstones. However, Renfrewshire Council has been rigid in their approach of simply knocking over headstones.

They ought to engage with grave owners before taking such actions.

The key issue here is urging the council to reconsider their approach.

We strongly support the council’s focus on the safety of memorials, but they seem to underestimate the emotional impact.

It’s concerning that they appear to lack empathy and understanding.

It’s not only about the headstones—it’s about the memories of people. It’s incredibly heartbreaking for the families involved.”

He further mentioned, “Other councils like East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, and East Ayrshire do not merely knock over headstones; they use other methods to secure them.

If these methods are practical for other councils, why are they not considered viable for Renfrewshire Council?”

A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council commented, “We are responsible for ensuring safety in our cemeteries, and our trained staff are tasked with evaluating and safely laying down any unstable headstones, in accordance with guidelines from the Scottish Government, which were established after a tragic accident in a Scottish cemetery.

We recognize the emotional difficulty for families when a headstone is laid flat, and this action is only taken when there is a significant safety risk due to instability or inadequate fixings.

It is often challenging to contact grave owners before such work is performed, and we place notices on affected memorials and headstones, providing details for owners to contact the council to verify that their memorials comply with safety standards.

Information is also available through signs posted at each cemetery.”