'Extremely disrespectful' drivers slammed as 'cars parked over graves' in church

13 December 2023 , 21:29

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'Disgraceful' drivers have been leaving their cars at the graveyard in Gloucester (Image: Bristol Post WS)

Motorists have taking to parking their cars over graves in a cemetery after a multi-storey closed.

Residents in Gloucester have hit out at the "extremely disrespectful" parking at a graveyard in the city following the closure of a multi-storey. Even builders' vans have been seen parked at the site with council permission, a local priest said.

The problem has been going on at St Mary de Crypt church in recent weeks sparking fury amongst locals and concern about "unofficial" parking across the city centre. One councillor said the issue wasn't a "one off" and described the parking as "disgraceful".

It's feared motorists have been taking to parking there after the closure of a nearby multi-storey car park (Bristol Post WS)

City Councillor Rebecca Trimnell said the issue wasn't a one off and was fuming that people have been parking on graves. "This has been happening a lot, if not everyday since the churchyard reopened," she told Gloucestershire Live. "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."

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Church rector Reverend Canon Nikki Arthy said the church was aware of the parking problems, saying there had even 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," Rev Arthy said.

She added: "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."

Carmelo Garcia