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| From ‘des res’ to
‘dead res’ |
Fury over plan to locate mortuary
behind Kentish Town’s leafy back gardens
OUTRAGED residents in Kentish Town say a proposal to convert
a green-roofed wooden shed – sandwiched between the back gardens
of residents on Oakford Road and Burghley Road – into a mortuary
is “insane”.
The application has been submitted to the Town Hall by Green Endings,
an eco-friendly funeral service on Fortess Road, which currently
uses the shed to store its coffins.
But many residents in the quiet streets, who include Guardian editor
Alan Rusbridger, on Burghley Road, and Labour councillor and planning
committee member Deirdre Krymer, on Oakford Road, are now determined
to fight the plans.
Roz Maxwell, 70, who has lived in Oakford Road for nearly 40 years,
and whose back garden touches the proposed mortuary, has already
sent a letter to the council objecting to the plans.
Ms Maxwell, a retired nurse, said: “Nobody wants to sit at
the end of their garden knowing that less than a yard away are newly
dead people stretched out on slabs or in fridges. It is simply not
appropriate.
“The walls of many of our back gardens are within hand-touching
distance of the sides of this long large shed.”
Margaret Mulvihill, 50, a writer on Oakford Road, said she had been
deeply upset by the proposal.
She said: “I am not squeamish about death but it just seems
profoundly wrong to me to have the dead so close to the living.
I just could not envisage sitting in the garden to relax knowing
I am within spitting distance of a mortuary.”
Richard Lefevre, 29, an IT consultant from Burghley Road, whose
back garden also overlooks the site said: “It’s insane.
It is right in the middle of three residential streets and a lot
of bedrooms have a view directly into it. Mortuaries are needed
but this is for a business, not a public service.”
Robert Brighouse, another Burghley Road resident, said: “None
of us are thrilled at the prospect of having a mortuary at the bottom
of our garden and we will do all we can to prevent this from happening.
“How can it be right that a semi-industrial activity can be
regarded as suitable in an entirely residential area?”
Yesterday (Wednesday) residents were planning a meeting to discuss
how to fight the proposals which are likely to go before Town Hall
planning chiefs before the end of the year.
But Roslyn Cassidy, owner of Green Endings, told the New Journal
she had sought independent professional advice on whether it would
be a reasonable application before she had submitted her proposal.
According to Ms Cassidy, increased demand for her business has led
to the need to look for a new mortuary nearer the funeral parlour
– rather than the New Southgate service she currently uses.
She added: “It is not unusual for a mortuary to be located
in a residential area. The building itself is a very discreet looking
building which blends into the neighbourhood and we would not be
required to change any aspect of it.
“I understand that residents are concerned but the service
would be run very discreetly. As far as I am concerned it would
be in a very secure location.” |
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