Visit to the site
On the 14th December Council officers paid a visit to the site. Jennifer Woollin, a City Council Ecologist and Adam McArthur, an Open Spaces Development Officer. They said that they were responding to a complaint. Both of them were initially taken aback at how clear the area behind the shops on Princes Avenue was now. They said they had not visited the site for over a year and, it is beginning to look a little different in there now.
The volunteers were advised by Adam about the planning permission needed to cutback within a conservation area. He was satisfied that the volunteers were working within those restrictions.
The wild corner
They were informed that no work was to be undertaken in the far north corner of the site. This is, at present, a large area of blackberry bushes. Below is an photograph of it in 1996. The officers were pleased with this decision. Two ash trees close by are to be felled by the Council after Xmas they said. This was due to resident complaints.
The INCA report of 2010 was discussed.
Bill Longbone said that the volunteers would like to place a wildlife pond but the idea had been discouraged. This was due to the potential health and safety issues. Jennifer thought it was a good idea and advised that a formal application should be made.
Guided walk
The volunteers gave the representatives a guided walk around the cemetery, and they were genuinely impressed with the improvements that the volunteers had undertaken. We identified the problems with the muddy paths, and that we were continually spreading chippings to keep the paths passable. Andy stated that he would arrange for the council to deliver chippings to the site. This would allow the volunteers to spread them. This would save the volunteers time in chipping.
The officers were shown the ‘butterfly area and plaque, the hawthorn/buckthorn plantings, plaque and owl boxes. All of which were well received by the officers.
Agree with YWT
Both Jenny & Adam suggested that we should remove ivy from headstones and ‘specimen’ trees, but should generally leave it on other trees. They also recommended that much of the ground ivy, and sycamore saplings be cut back. This would encourage light and the diversity of plants and wildlife. They were in agreement with the recommendation of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust that we should create open glade areas to let in light.
We advised that the Friends had done a provisional tree survey in the cemetery, and of our ambition to plot these on a GPS digital map. Adam confirmed that he had such a map, and would undertake a detailed survey of the trees.
Summary
In summary, what could have been a tense meeting turned out very well. The officers were pleased with what the Friends were doing. They were satisfied that we were ‘environmentally and ecologically aware’. The officers offered their help and assistance in obtaining advice on planting and encouraged us to apply for ‘planting grants’ from the council. They also said to submit the proposal for the pond with their support.
In conclusion, Jennifer Woollin said, “One of the visions for the management plan and this city is the designation of additional Local Nature Reserves. General Cemetery has always been on my radar and the FOGC are clearly establishing well and community involvement is essential.”
Pete Lowden is a member of the Friends of Hull General Cemetery committee which is committed to reclaiming the cemetery and returning it back to a community resource.