Council issues statement after Derbyshire church cemetery wall collapses

The boundary wall of the former St Bartholomew’s church cemetery partially collapsed over the bank holiday weekend, sending heavy debris tumbling on to the pavement.

In a Facebook post NEDDC said: “We are aware part of the wall near St Bartholomew’s Church has collapsed. Please take care on the pavement in avoiding the wall. The area affected will soon be secured and coned off, so please be mindful when walking past. We are looking to repair the wall as soon as possible with local contractors.”

Since posting this statement the debris has been cleared from the pavement and safety barriers have been erected around the affected area. The council have also offered a further update. Repairs to the wall are set to commence on June 5th taking around two-three weeks to complete. The plan includes rebuilding the whole wall, as well as repairing the collapsed section.

In the comments on the council's original post, several people have expressed confusion as to why nothing had been done about the wall which, many say, had been on the verge of collapse for over a year.

One person commented: “ It’s a shame it hasn’t been dealt with before it’s come to this. It’s been bowing for years.”

In response to these concerns the council have said: “We were aware of the imminent need to rebuild the wall; however, due to the repair being a specialist undertaking, as it is within a Conservation Area and forming the boundary of a Listed building, we have had to approach several contractors and official bodies to undertake the project.

"We have had to apply for Planning Permission to undertake the works, which has been granted, as well as applying for an Ecclesiastical Faculty which allows us to work on behalf of the Church of England, trying to reinstate the wall as sympathetically as we can. Lastly, we have applied for a Footpath Closure with Derbyshire County Council to undertake the work safely. We are hoping to get the wall repaired to its original state as safely and as soon as possible with as little impact on pedestrians and motorists as possible.”