Shacklegate Lane allotment holders urge Richmond to pause cemetery takeover

Plot holders at the Shacklegate Lane allotments have asked Richmond Council to delay closing the site on 1 October. They want the land kept out of Teddington Cemetery until the council has tried other ways to deal with the borough’s lack of burial space.

The council approved extending the cemetery onto the allotments last December. The extension will create more than 700 graves, which should meet demand for around three decades. The plots have been worked for 120 years and are the last allotments left in the neighbourhood.

Why campaigners want Richmond to pause the allotment closure

Earlier this year the council rejected a petition signed by 1,758 residents. The petition said clearing the plots would only be a stopgap for a burial shortage that will last much longer.

Campaigners now suggest the council takes half the site for now and starts reclaiming old graves. The council backed a scheme like this in 2018, when Richmond needed more burial space. Under it, a grave can be reused only if it is at least 75 years old and has room for more burials. Other authorities already reuse plots this way, including the City of London Corporation.

Paul Cuff, 79, who has a plot on the site, said the scheme could have provided enough space without touching the allotments if it had already been running. He said the council had “just buried their heads in the sand” over the problem.

What the council agreed and when

Permission to extend the cemetery onto the allotments was first granted in 1993, but only part of the land was taken then. The rest was formally approved last December. Richmond’s Local Plan, which runs to 2039, says the council “will protect existing allotments”.

Residents say the council has ignored the points they raised about the need for allotments, reusing old burial ground and the effect on wildlife. They also say the plan will cost taxpayers a significant amount. They are asking the council to look at its decision again before the site closes.