A raft of improvement works to sensitively restore and enhance the landscape and facilities at Bath’s Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium have got underway.
The aim is to restore and improve some of the key elements of the cemetery, in Whiteway Road, which was opened in 1936.
The plans, called ‘A New View for Haycombe’, also pave the way for future landscaping in keeping with the cemetery and its location.
Councillor Bob Goodman, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods and Development, said: “People visiting Haycombe may have already seen the restoration work which is under way.
“The idea of A New View for Haycombe is to put in a framework for the future which harks back to the original layout and design and makes the most of the incredible setting it is in.
“There are also new ways that people can remember loved ones – from simply donating to a bulb fund to sponsoring a bench.
“The overall aim is to help make the landscape a place of peace for the bereaved and a place of beauty to remember loved ones.”
Among the work being carried out is the redesign of a shrubbery called The Seasonal Garden, which has 12 beds representing each month of the year where ashes are interred.
The beds have been increased in size and an edging of garden blocks around each bed is replacing deteriorating lecterns.
Anyone who has a plaque on a lectern has been offered a free plaque on the new garden blocks.
In addition, the wild flower meadow has been resown and a major bulb planting scheme is now underway.
The mixed bulb planting will see the blooms flower from January to May at key sites in the gardens. A bulb fund has been launched which people can donate to as another way of remembering someone.
More bulbs will be planted in the grassland area which is another peaceful area where people can scatter ashes.
This re-designed area will incorporate footpaths, be supplemented with bulbs and over time be transformed into a garden with trees.
Haycombe is also replacing some of the seating in the cemetery with recycled plastic benches which dry more quickly after rain, are environmentally friendly and can be sponsored by families wishing to remember a loved one.
In the lower part of the cemetery, granite benches have been installed and have been arranged to take in the views across the valley.
People who want to commemorate a loved one also have the option of remembering them on a new Memory Tree placed in the same room as the Book of Remembrance.
The bronze tree is hung flat to the wall and has brass leaves hanging from it which people can leave an inscription on.
A new appointment system has also been introduced this month to assist families in organising a funeral.
Staff will go through the documentation and help with the form filling process in an effort to make the emotionally difficult process much smoother.