Four cemeteries in Cardiff will re-open to members of the public from Saturday (25th April), with newly-redeployed teams in place to ensure social distancing is maintained and the spaces are not used inappropriately during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
The council is calling on the public to only visit the cemeteries if they are attending a grave or for a funeral so that social distancing can be observed. In a separate move Blackweir Bridge across the Taff is being closed to the public after signs calling on people to observe social distancing were ignored despite repeated warnings.
The cemeteries were temporarily closed to the public at the start of April following a weekend that saw an unusually high number of visitors to the sites and reports of picnics, ball games and other large social gatherings taking place in the grounds. At the time the cemeteries were closed the Council advised that the decision would be kept under ongoing review.
Cabinet Member with responsibility for Bereavement Services, Cllr Michael Michael, said: “We’ve said from the start that this was a temporary measure and would be kept under review and I’m pleased that we are now in a position to redeploy teams to help ensure social distancing is maintained on-site and that we can re-open the cemeteries.
“We know this has been a difficult time for those who have been unable to visit the grave of their loved ones, and I would ask people to ensure that, now these important spaces are open, they use them appropriately and maintain a safe distance from others if they do visit.”
From this weekend, staff mainly redeployed from the Council’s parks service, with support from South Wales Police, will provide a visible presence at Cathays, Western, Thornhill and Pantmawr Cemeteries and will be closely monitoring usage of the sites, which will be open between 8am and 6pm.
