Oldham cemetery flooding ‘disrespectful to the dead’

Gary Turner visits Chadderton Cemetery every week, as it is where his mother and stepdad are buried.

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Mr Turner said: “I’ve noticed every time it rains hard, it just floods. We’re lucky because the grave isn’t right next to that water, but it’s devastating as a family if your grave was right next to that water.

“It’s disappointing, you’ve got to be respectful, I’m not happy as it is at the minute.

"I had a drive round the other areas – the other picture I took was another part of the cemetery where it’s all flooded.”

The Grade II-listed cemetery opened in 1857 and is owned by Oldham Council.

Mr Turner, who lives in Greenacres, has called on the council to clear the drains.

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The 45-year-old added: “When it’s nice weather it’s not there, obviously, but when it’s absolutely throwing it down and it floods like that, I just think, every time I go, I’m glad my mum’s grave is not right next to that.

“It’s not really respectful, is it? I posted these pictures on Facebook and the comments said ‘They’ve always been like that’, ‘They never get emptied, they’re blocked’. It’s a problem in the town.

“I just think it’s disrespectful of the dead.”

Gary drove to another part of the cemetery and saw more water (Image: Gary Turner)

According to Historic England, Chadderton Cemetery was designed by Manchester architect N G Pennington, who also designed Greenacres Cemetery – which was opened on the same day, August 1, 1857.

It was first listed by Historic England in 2002 due to its special historic interest, with its 19th and 20th century funerary monuments said to ‘reflect the development of Oldham’.

A cemetery office and lodge were provided, with the burial ground divided between Anglicans and Dissenters, each with their own mortuary chapel, and a division line marked by a line of posts.

Cllr Chris Goodwin, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “Over the last few weeks Oldham along with many parts of the country have experienced a lot of heavy downpours, which has caused some localised flooding across the borough.

“A patch of the road at one of the lowest points in Chadderton Cemetery did flood during the non-stop rain over the weekend. Now the rainfall has subsided, the surface water has drained away, leaving a heavy deposit of mud and silt.

“In the coming days we have arranged for the area to be swept to remove any mud that remains.

“We take all complaints seriously and would like to apologise to anyone who has been left distressed by the flooding, and give them the assurance that we will monitor the situation and take appropriate steps to minimise the disruption and distress that this may cause in the future.”