Concerns around flooding in Muslim section of East Herringthorpe Cemetery in Rotherham

Rotherham Council was criticised by some from the Muslim community at previous cabinet and full council meetings at the town hall recently.

They said they didn’t receive clear answers about the issues surrounding “flooding” in the Muslim section of the East Herringthorpe Cemetery.

The questions are, more often than not, directed at Cllr Saghir Alam, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance, who is responsible for this area in the borough.

He told the Local Democracy Service he wanted to resolve the issue as he also has relatives buried in the Muslim section of the cemetery.

He said: “Last year, in April, there was a concern of water in one of the graves so I came to have a look. I told Dignity (the company that runs the cemetery) we need to resolve this and put the drainage in.

“Since last April, over the summer last year, they put some more drainage in to make sure the water doesn’t stay in one place.”

When Cllr Alam was told these were not new issues as problems around the groundwater is said to be dated back to twenty-odd years now, he added: “I think the groundwater is always there in any graveyard.

“I joined in 2015. When I became a cabinet member in 2021 and since it came to my attention, we’ve put processes in place and have been holding Dignity to account.”

He said in 2019, more issues were raised by the Muslim community, such as accessibility and opening hours. He said “reasonable adjustment” had been made.

Some members of the Muslim community attended the last couple of cabinet and full council meetings and asked Cllr Alam or the council’s leader Cllr Chris Read about the cemetery – with some unhappy with the answers they had been given.

Cllr Alam acknowledged that and added this was one of the reasons he had called for an independent review – but that was pulled at the last minute.

He said: “It was to somebody to come in, look at the whole issue independently, and tell us what’s happening.

“The person we asked is quite an expert in running cemeteries and he understands the whole concept.”

Cllr Alam said he was “disappointed” this did not proceed.

He added that since his legal department took over in November 2021, he holds Dignity to account – he started issuing fines as “Rotherham residents deserve a good service”.

Cllr Alam said last year they had fined Dignity for “almost £400,000” in the whole borough while 14 years ago the total was “only £8”.

“That shows you the enforcement is there”, he said.

However, he said, Dignity was proactive about the issues raised in East Herringthorpe.

The Local Democracy Service also approached Dignity for a comment.

A spokesperson said: “In 2022, Dignity invested £1 million to dramatically transform cemeteries in Rotherham.

“We are sympathetic to the views of the Muslim community and they’ve provided positive feedback about the significant improvements that have already been made to the cemetery.

“We’ve not had any recent reports of ‘flooding’ or excessive groundwater retention in this area and the drainage installed last year is working as planned.

“We are routinely visiting mosques to better understand the needs of this community. A typical example resulting from this engagement was the decorating of the cemetery office to celebrate Eid and this was well received.

“We continue to invest in the cemetery and last week saw a new handrail installed to improve safety, a new tap was added for convenient access to water and flowers planted to provide a natural and tranquil environment.”