Safeguarding concerns close cemetery gateway

Thursday 23 December 2021

The Dean of Guernsey says there is no simple solution to a dispute over use of a gateway which is restricting access to part of the cemetery at St Andrew's Church.

Family and friends who have loved ones buried in the upper part of the cemetery have recently found access restricted during opening hours of a pre-school which is based in a barn in the churchyard.

When Sue Pirouet went to visit the cemetery last week, she was told she could not use the gate. She said it had always been open previously and she was surprised to find it locked.

Reverend Tim Barker, the Dean, said the gate has been closed because of requirements placed on the pre-school to safeguard the children in its care. The issue arose when the pre-school which operates from the barn changed hands.

Pictured: St Andrew's Church.

The building known as the barn is situated in Rue des Morts, which runs adjacent to the Church and cemetery. The barn and the gate are at the entrance to the upper part of the churchyard. Reverend Barker said the reissuing of contracts when the pre-school changed hands led to States' officials identifying safeguarding concerns about the gate being open when children were in the pre-school. 

"In recent years, the main user of the building has been a pre-school. It is also the registered office of Guernsey Counselling Service (formerly known as Philippi Counselling). Access problems inside the building mean that it is not used much by the Church community, but it is ideal for a pre-school," said Reverend Barker. 

"Until last year, the premises were used for a pre-school group run and owned by a person who sold the business to new owners, who trade as ‘The Little Barn Pre-school’. Whilst the new owners were seeking permission to run a pre-school, the States' Early Years Team made it a requirement that there should be no access to, or through, the area around the barn whilst children were present in the building. Given our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, I understood the reasons for the requirement."

Pictured: The Dean of Guernsey, The Very Reverend Tim Barker, who has been trying to negotiate a solution to a dispute which is restricting access to part of the cemetery at St Andrew's Church.

Mrs Pirouet said she also understands the reasons for the requirement imposed on the pre-school, but she feels it is unacceptable to restrict access to the cemetery for that reason.

"I totally understand the safety aspect of this regarding the pre-school but feel if children are outside they would be adequately supervised and in such a small area that would not be hard to do," said Mrs Pirouet.

"There has never been any notification put up regarding this and I have unlocked the gate on numerous times to visit our family's grave.

"I still feel there has to be some way of making access to the cemetery at all times. I have heard of an elderly lady who tried to go and put flowers on her father’s grave and could not. There is a disabled lady who contacted me and also would like to visit her family grave whenever she feels the need. Also a lady who looks after the World War One memorial commented on my [Facebook] post.

"I have contacted Deputy Lyndon Trott, who said he will look into the situation for me. All we want is some sort of access and not to be told we can only visit after 14:00 on a weekday. Not everyone can fit in around these timings and shouldn’t need to. I, and many others, feel you should be able to visit a cemetery when you want to - or in some cases, with things as they are at the moment, when you feel you need the comfort of being close to family that have passed away.

"As I said, I understand the safety aspect for the children and pre-school, but cannot accept that denial to enter a cemetery at any time is acceptable."

Pictured: The safeguarding concerns which have closed the gate were put in place when the pre-school which operates in the barn on the Church grounds was taken over by new owners. File image.

Reverend Barker has looked into the matter in detail and has tried to come up with a solution to suit all parties. But he thinks that in the circumstances it is acceptable for the gate to be locked and for access to the grounds of the pre-school to be restricted during opening hours.

"Although closing the entrance to the barn inevitably prevents access to the upper area of the churchyard between 0900 and 1400, Monday to Friday, I took the view that the restriction of access to the churchyard was justified for the safety of the children using the pre-school," he said.

"There is no restriction on access to the churchyard at weekends, after 14:00 when the pre-school is operating and during periods when it is closed."

Reverend Barker accepts that the restrictions have upset some people but said he must balance a number of considerations for the community as a whole. 

"There are few other premises in the area which are suitable for a pre-school and available at a reasonable cost," he said. "I understand that the pre-school operating in the St Andrew’s Community Centre has no more capacity. The Little Barn Pre-school provides a valuable community service as well as being a small business run by two women.

"I called Mrs Pirouet on Tuesday evening [last week] in response to her call to my office earlier in the day and, after apologising for the restricted access, explained the reasons for it. Mrs Pirouet asked whether an alternative access was possible. I explained that I could not see how this could easily be achieved. I acknowledged that I was faced with the problem of two competing ‘goods’ – the provision of a much needed pre-school and 24/7 access to the churchyard."

Pictured: Some people who have loved ones in the upper part of the cemetery are distressed that their access to graves is now restricted to certain times of the day and week and they hope it will be possible to restore unrestricted access before too long.

Reverend Barker said some of the alternatives considered included creating a stile over the wall from the old churchyard, but this would be inconvenient to anyone with mobility problems. Another option studied was to create a path from the Church car park to the churchyard but he said it was decided that would be "difficult, disproportionately expensive and probably too steep for anyone with mobility problems".

He said another option was to alter the entrance to the barn and churchyard, but this would require breaching an ancient wall and "even if the planners did not object, the cost would not be inconsiderable".

"Given the entirely proper requirements of the States of Guernsey Early Years Team, there appears to be no simple solution to this dilemma."

Mrs Pirouet is still keen for the access issue to be resolved so that graves of loved ones can be visited without the current restrictions.

"I know we have access on weekends but many people want to visit graves on anniversaries and birthdays, etc. and these dates do not conveniently always fall on a weekend," she said.

Pictured (top): The gate at St Andrew's Church which is at the centre of a dispute currently restricting access to part of the cemetery.