WITH reference to the planning application (Flats plan for graveyard site, Gazette, February 17), I would like to make the following observations.
Having reviewed the application, I am extremely surprised I have not received any correspondence myself with regards to this matter as I had previously objected to the original application to develop this land and at the time was reliable informed by Thurrock Council I would be kept fully informed of any future applications.
The name in the planning document refers to the Presbyterian Church, but it is actually called, as far as I am aware, the South Ockendon Independent Chapel.
The last internment in the cemetery was not, in fact, over 100 years ago, it was in the 1920s. Records from ERO confirm this.
The wording in the design statement is extremely derogatory, stating “the situation is potentially aggravated by the presence of local residents who may have ancestors buried on the site”.
I find this remark totally inappropriate and an insult to anybody with deceased ancestors buried here, which includes myself.
Is there a list of every burial on this site? If not, how can remains be relocated?
My family has long-standing connections with the church site and general area and, although I no longer live in Thurrock, I still visit family on a regular basis. I find this whole episode most upsetting. – PAUL CHIDDICKS, Winsford, Cheshire.
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