A group of Turkish Cypriots with families buried in the cemetery are putting pressure on Badgeurst Ltd, the company responsible for it’s maintenance, for letting it fall into disrepair.
Tottenham Park Cemetery is an important place for the Turkish Cypriot community in London, with almost 5,000 of them buried here. There are an estimated 300,000 – 400,000 Turkish Cypriots in London, almost twice as many as in Northern Cyprus itself.
A plot in the cemetery last year would cost you £4000, in cash, with an additional payment of £76 a year for maintenance. However, when we visited the cemetery there were large amounts of rubbish, as well as signs of vandalism, including destroyed headstones. The residents say that this is a result of Badgehurst leaving the gates open 24 hours a day, with no one looking over the cemetery.
Perhaps highest on their list of priorities though, is the presence of Japanese Knotweed, a plant outlawed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 for its destructive impact. The weed has spread throughout the cemetery and some of those with families buried there are worried that the graves will have to be dug up to remove the plant.
Baroness Meral Ece raise this issue in the House of Lords this week, and she told us “I have seen the situation decline and deteriorate to the point where it is now unsustainable as a burial ground. The owner charges bereaved families some £4k, and insists on ‘cash in hand’. There is absolutely no maintenance work, or cleaning taking place. There are now footpaths, or safe spaces between graves.”
Mehmet, whose Grandfather is buried there, said that seeing the cemetery in this condition “breaks your heart.”
Tunay Hussein, whose Mother is buried at Tottenham Park, told us, “I feel very strongly that a minority ethnic group having had no where else to bury their family in the past have been short changed. Anyone in the world would expect a cemetery top be kept in a clean and tidy state.”
Badgehrst have faced criticism before from families, who allege that in 2015 they found scorched human bones hidden behind the bins, picture below. Exhumation of graves is illegal under the Burial Act of 1857.
We approach Badgehurst for a comment, but they declined to speak to us.
For Jamie Tahsin’s full report, tune in to City News at 15:30.
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HeadlineTurkish Cypriot community outraged at Tottenham cemetery operators
Short HeadlineTurkish Cypriot community outraged at cemetery operators
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A group of Turkish Cypriots with families buried in the cemetery are putting pressure on Badgeurst Ltd, the company responsible for it’s maintenance, for letting it fall into disrepair.
Tottenham Park Cemetery is an important place for the Turkish Cypriot community in London, with almost 5,000 of them buried here. There are an estimated 300,000 – 400,000 Turkish Cypriots in London, almost twice as many as in Northern Cyprus itself.
A plot in the cemetery last year would cost you £4000, in cash, with an additional payment of £76 a year for maintenance. However, when we visited the cemetery there were large amounts of rubbish, as well as signs of vandalism, including destroyed headstones. The residents say that this is a result of Badgehurst leaving the gates open 24 hours a day, with no one looking over the cemetery.
Perhaps highest on their list of priorities though, is the presence of Japanese Knotweed, a plant outlawed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 for its destructive impact. The weed has spread throughout the cemetery and some of those with families buried there are worried that the graves will have to be dug up to remove the plant.
Baroness Meral Ece raise this issue in the House of Lords this week, and she told us “I have seen the situation decline and deteriorate to the point where it is now unsustainable as a burial ground. The owner charges bereaved families some £4k, and insists on ‘cash in hand’. There is absolutely no maintenance work, or cleaning taking place. There are now footpaths, or safe spaces between graves.”
Mehmet, whose Grandfather is buried there, said that seeing the cemetery in this condition “breaks your heart.”
Tunay Hussein, whose Mother is buried at Tottenham Park, told us, “I feel very strongly that a minority ethnic group having had no where else to bury their family in the past have been short changed. Anyone in the world would expect a cemetery top be kept in a clean and tidy state.”
Badgehrst have faced criticism before from families, who allege that in 2015 they found scorched human bones hidden behind the bins, picture below. Exhumation of graves is illegal under the Burial Act of 1857.
We approach Badgehurst for a comment, but they declined to speak to us.
For Jamie Tahsin’s full report, tune in to City News at 15:30.
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