BOURNE COMMENT

A personal view of issues
and events

by REX NEEDLE

TIME TO HAND OVER THE CEMETERY CHAPEL 

We have a newly constituted town council with fresh ideas to make Bourne a better place to live. High on the agenda must be the future of the cemetery chapel which was given a Grade II listing eight years ago to protect it from demolition yet nothing has been done to preserve it for the future despite a band of dedicated volunteers waiting in the wings to bring this Victorian building back into useful life.

The future of the chapel has been dogged by bureaucratic setbacks since 2007 when a survey revealed that wind and weather had taken their toll over the years and that extensive repair work was needed to keep it in good order. The town council in whose care it has been entrusted since 1974 decided that this was too expensive to maintain and members voted to pull it down and sell its ancient stones for scrap. Their proposal reached the ears of English Heritage who sent an inspector to Bourne to take a look and as a result, the historic chapel was listed Grade II by the Department of Media, Culture and Sport as being of architectural interest to protect it from demolition and so this proposed act of official vandalism was foiled at the last moment.

This lead to the formation of the Bourne Preservation Society, a group of conservationists who planned to restore and preserve the building and despite a promise from the council in June 2008 that the building would be handed over, their efforts have been thwarted ever since by delay and obfuscation that has prevented them from starting work.

Hopes were raised at the annual meeting of the council in May last year when the agenda stated that it was proposed to proceed with negotiations for completing a lease with the trust but this did not materialise. Instead, more issues and more requirements were raised by the town council and the matter was referred to the finance and general purposes committee, so frustrating any move forward for the society which had already lost patience with the council by threatening to break off negotiations altogether unless petty problems such as this could be resolved.

This eventually happened and the events were detailed in the society’s last newsletter which stated: “Following over six years of difficult negotiations with Bourne Town Council, where all types of time wasting and obstruction by them took place, when there was never any real will on their part to co-operate with us, and following new requirements raised after we cleared their final hurdle, we have reluctantly informed them of our intention to cease talks with them over its future. We have advised them of our wish to carry out the project in the future. However this is unlikely to happen until a fresh council is elected, as there is no real will to have the existing council’s original plan to demolish the building turned around. They continue to amass money and now have sufficient to carry out the project themselves … if only there was someone with vision there!”

Well, we now have a new council, finally convened after five new members were co-opted earlier this month to join the ten already returned unopposed because there were insufficient candidates to stand at the local government elections in May. Furthermore, only one of the nine councillors who voted to demolish the chapel on Tuesday 9th January 2007 remains in office and so this is a timely moment for a reappraisal of the situation.

We also have a new mayor, Councillor Philip Knowles, who has declared publicly that it will be his role to take the town into a new era and who told The Local newspaper (May 22nd): “I shall seek to get more people have a sense of pride in Bourne and to encourage ways of demonstrating that community spirit. It is about making Bourne feel that little bit more pleasant. It is a lovely place to live. With a little bit of effort we can make it that little bit better.”

Here then is the perfect opportunity to put that policy of community spirit into practice. The cemetery chapel is just one of our 71 listed buildings and what better way to ensure its future than to involve the people in its preservation, the perfect example of voluntary effort in action and working with the local authority.

The chapel was built in 1855 as an integral part of the cemetery and became the central feature for funerals of all denominations but these services ended in 2001 when the building was closed after being declared structurally unsound although cemetery staff continued to use it as a workshop and store. Maintenance was carried out periodically but the major restoration envisaged by the society is now long overdue if this building is to survive for the future. Further delay could mean lasting damage to the fabric and it is the duty of those in office with the power of authority to ensure that this unsatisfactory situation does not continue any longer than is necessary.

If the town council insists on retaining control, then as guardians of this Grade II listed building it will be incumbent on them to institute maintenance and repairs which will be a major problem because by their own estimate the bill is likely to be in excess of £400,000, the figure provided by the council itself for a public questionnaire over the building’s future circulated to all homes in 2008 when they warned that the money would have to be recovered through the council tax and involve increases amounting to £14.35 a year over six years in band D or £10.87 a year over 11 years (Stamford Mercury, 25 January 2008), a most unpopular move during the present period of economic restraint. The society’s business plan, however, which has already been presented to the council, includes provision for the necessary fund raising without impinging on the public purse.

The time is therefore right for their scheme to be implemented by returning the building to its original role as a chapel of rest and as a columbarium, a particularly important function when space at the cemetery has recently been at a premium and cremation urns and memorial plaques would take up less room than traditional burials.

It is therefore in the public interest that negotiations should be resumed immediately with the Bourne Preservation Society with a view to giving them the key of the door. They have the plan, they have the support and they have the enthusiasm to save this fine example of Victorian Gothic and so the time is ripe.

We have a fresh council and a pledge from our leading citizen that a new era is on the way. Let us hope that the authority does not lapse back into its old ways of ignoring the wishes of the people they represent by once again passing up this magnificent offer of voluntary help to preserve one of our listed buildings and allow it moulder into obscurity.

Note: This article was published by the Bourne web site on 27th June 2015