‘Extremely disrespectful’ as ‘cars parked over graves’ in West Country church

Fuming locals have slammed 'disrespectful' drivers who have been parking their vehicles over graves at a West Country church. Residents are concerned that"unofficial" parking may be spreading across Gloucester city centre. Motorists have been parking on council owned-land outside North Warehouse and civic chiefs fear this is due to the ongoing closure of the Longsmith Street multi-storey.

And now people are parking in the St Mary De Crypt of Southgate Street, reports Gloucestershire Live.[1] City Councillor Rebecca Trimnell (LD, Westgate) says it isn't a one off and is fuming that people are parking on graves. "This has been happening a lot, if not everyday since the churchyard reopened," she said. Try BristolLive Premium for FREE with no ads and new features[3]

"How can people enjoy this space when cars are parked all over it, it's also extremely disrespectful to those buried in the churchyard. How can the powers that be possibly justify these amount of cars parked in a space that had recently been maintained for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to the city? It is disgraceful.

"I want immediate action taken. It doesn't help that Longsmith car park remains closed as we are also seeing unofficial parking happening behind the North Warehouse and Main Basin - this also needs sorting without delay." Church rector Reverend Canon Nikki Arthy[4] said St Mary de Crypt Church is sorry to learn of Cllr Trimnell's concerns and regret that she did not speak with them directly.

She says there have been a few occasions in recent weeks when builders' vans were parked with council permission.

"The churchyard is in the care of the council and we work with council officials to care for it. Church staff and volunteers do the gardening, pick up litter and lock and unlock the gates, in order that the public can enjoy the green space. "There was a special event at the church on Saturday 9 December as part of the city's Christmas celebrations.

Traders were permitted to park in the churchyard and parking was supervised. This was a rare occurrence. "The churchyard is closed for burials and care of the old graves is taken seriously.

We welcome a conversation with Cllr Rebecca as we work to support the life of the city together." A spokesperson for Gloucester City Council said they will be contacting residents to identify the owners of the vehicles and secure the area once the cars are removed. "We thank Cllr Trimnell for bringing this issue to our attention," they said. "We will be liaising with the residents in the area and will attempt to identify the owners of the vehicles.

Once the cars have been removed, we will look to secure the area."

References

1. ^ Gloucestershire Live. (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
2. ^ West Country couple declare 'something's off' after being hit with parking fine despite buying ticket (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
3. ^ Try BristolLive Premium for FREE with no ads and new features (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
4. ^ Nikki Arthy (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)