Amir Sanei, Patrick Kiernan, Emel Teymur, Pamela Miles, Tom Pigott-Smith at the Town Hall on Monday night

THE widow of one of Britain’s finest actors shared her fears for the future of Highgate Cemetery as she appeared at the Town Hall with a warning about restoration works.

Pamela Miles, whose husband Tim Pigott-Smith is buried in the east cemetery, was one member of a deputation at Camden’s planning meeting on Monday night which warned that councillors were passing unfinished plans for the historic burial ground.

This follows a row over a plan to build new gardeners’ facilities at a section known as “the Mound” which grave owners said would be too close to where their loved ones had been laid to rest.

That plan was dropped following the backlash but there have been no guarantees that the project will not be revisited at a later stage.

Camden’s planning councillors approved permissions for a range of work at the cemetery.

Ms Miles was among campaigners who had wanted the committee to reach a “split decision” which would have approved landscape and conservation works now, while deferring any decision on new service buildings until a masterplan is agreed.

Ms Miles said: “The council has a duty to ensure Highgate’s long-term plan is robust, complete and worthy of its international significance. To approve an unfinished scheme now would compromise that standard.

“This is a decision not just about planning but about stewardship. It would also provide breathing space to allow a period of collaboration to find the best and least harmful location for the gardeners’ facilities.”

A BBC report announcing Mr Pigott-Smith’s death in 2017

Mr Pigott-Smith, who won a BAFTA for his role in The Jewel In The Crown, died aged 70 in 2017.

A quote “Goodnight sweet prince” from Hamlet appears on his gravestone at the cemetery.

Around 200 people are buried in The Mound area.

The deputation was led by Dr Patrick Kiernan, chair of the Association of Grave Owners of the Mound (GOM), who told the meeting: “I regularly visit this unique space as my son of 28 was buried there 12 years ago.

“The association was formed in response to proposals to build a gardeners’ building on the Mound and the deep distress felt by many of our members at the prospect of a large service building being placed beside the graves of their loved ones. For some, the anxiety has been such to question whether their families could continue to rest there in peace. That is the level of anguish that has brought us here tonight.”

He added: “We remain very concerned about Project Six – the gardeners’ building – because by agreeing to the works proposed today, it will really limit where that future building can go. It’s odd that the Trust hasn’t brought forward feasibility about the future facilities.”

The withdrawn plan for a gardener’s building at the Mound

In August, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust said it had listened to “deeply felt concerns” from families and agreed to withdraw the building from its wider £18million “Unlocking Highgate Cemetery” masterplan, which aims to conserve historic monuments, improve access, and develop education facilities over the next seven years.

Trustee Liz Fuller said: “Time and climate change are placing real pressures on the cemetery. Work to address this is urgent and this is about securing the future of this special place.

“We’ve listened carefully to feedback and removed the gardeners’ building from this application so that we can move forward while consulting further on how best to meet the cemetery’s operational needs.”