Knutsford Alfresco Dining Evenings August 2022

Following the success of the 2021 event, and as part of our ongoing plans to support the town centre, we are bringing back alfresco dining evenings on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th August.  To facilitate this, there will be the following road closures which may affect you:

  • King Street – from Church Hill to Egerton Square (allowing access to and from the King Street car park) Closed Saturday 13th August
  • Princess Street – small section outside the Lost and Found (as well as some restricted parking bays) Closed Friday 12th August
  • Minshull Street – full closure. Closed Friday 12th August

The roads will be closed from 5.30pm to 11.00pm and our local hospitality businesses will use the outside space for dining. Only existing Knutsford hospitality venues are taking part although some shops may take advantage of the event and stay open later.  We are contracting a traffic management company and are engaging with the emergency services to ensure the safety of the evenings. Roads will be reopened fully from 11pm. We are also looking to repeat this event on 9th and 10th September.

We are working extremely closely with the participating restaurants to ensure safety for those walking through the town centre and the evenings. We have also stressed the importance of ensuring the spaces used are routinely cleared up and that customers are reminded that a number of residents live in apartments above shops. We sincerely apologise for any disruption this causes but your cooperation is very much appreciated by the Town Council, and our hospitality industry as we continue to keep our town centre thriving. We welcome your feedback on the evenings and hope that you can take advantage of these opportunities too.

If you have any queries or questions regarding this, please contact me by email Alanah.mudie@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

Four people, one the town mayor, stand in a cemetery holding up the green flag

Knutsford Cemetery achieves Green Flag

Knutsford Town Council is celebrating as Knutsford Cemetery has received the prestigious Green Flag Award, an international quality mark for the management of parks and green spaces.

Responsibility for the cemetery transferred to Knutsford Town Council in January 2020 and since then it has worked to improve the quality of management of the cemetery and bereavement services, receiving numerous compliments from visitors who recognise the investment and attention the cemetery is now receiving. 

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

“Attaining the award is testament to the quality of management the Town Council has instigated, through our cemetery working group, since we took back its operation two years ago. The award particularly recognises the work of our Cemetery Groundskeeper, Fergal Owens, who has worked incredibly hard to improve the quality of grounds maintenance and our Planning and Facilities Officer Bob Allen who has put in place strong management practices” said Town Mayor, Cllr Mike Houghton.

The council will be continuing to improve the cemetery and deliver on its new five-year management plan. The council is currently creating a new cremation garden and later this year will be improving the entranceway to the cemetery, over the coming years it will create additional flowerbeds, install cycle parking and develop its customer engagement.

Knutsford Cemetery is the third green space in Knutsford to be awarded the Green Flag, joining Cheshire East managed areas The Moor and Tatton Park.

Photograph showing rows of graves in Knutsford Cemetery

Memorial Safety Inspections

On Thursday 21st January Knutsford Town Council is commencing a programme of routine memorial safety testing in Knutsford Cemetery. All memorials are required to be tested for safety every five years and the council is undertaking tests on every memorial in the cemetery over the coming months to bring records fully up to date as no records of memorial safety were passed on to the council when it took the cemetery back in 2020.

Testing will be conducted by section in the following order: A, B, L, M, C, D, E, F, J, H, G, K, D.

The testing involves applying a small amount of pressure to the top of a memorial to identify if the memorial is properly anchored into the ground and no damage is done to a memorial through this test. Every memorial which fails the test will be immediately but temporarily made safe. Most memorials failing the safety check will be supported with a stake and banding; where this is not possible the council may have to cordon an area of the cemetery off or temporarily lay the memorial down. After testing in each section of the cemetery has been completed, the council will write to the burial rights holder advising what works are required.

It is the responsibility of burial rights holders to maintain memorials and they will be responsible for any repair costs. The Town Council will look to secure a discounted rate for any memorial repairs from a registered memorial mason using its purchase power to reduce the repair cost for individual grave owners; grave owners will also be able to arrange their own repair through the usual memorial works approvals process with the council.

Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green said: “Undertaking these tests are an important part of managing safety at the cemetery. For a period, a number of graves may be staked and feature warning notices – we will endeavour to keep this period as short as possible and the swift cooperation of burial rights holders will help keep the cemetery presentable.”

“We are also taking the opportunity to remind burial rights holders to ensure their contact information is up-to-date; if you own a grave in the cemetery but have moved house since it was purchased please check with us that we hold your latest address so that any letters make it to you”

The Town Council is also encouraging visitors to family graves to consider who might own the grave. Burial rights last around 100 years and there is a process for the rightful owner of a grave claiming the rights to graves where the owner has passed away.

If you have any questions about the cemetery, the programme of memorial testing or transferring burial rights please call us on 01565 653 929 or email cemetery@kntusfordtowncouncil.gov.uk.

Cllr Jan Nicholson and Cllr Andrew Malloy stood near the sign to Knutsford Cemetery

Town Council takes back Knutsford Cemetery

Knutsford Town Council marked the turn of the new year by becoming a burial authority as Knutsford Cemetery returned to local control; this followed a review of options which took place in September 2018 when the council decided to terminate the service agreement with Cheshire East Council.

The five-acre site on Tabley Road opened in January 1902 and whilst it had been managed by Cheshire East Council and the former Macclesfield Borough Council since 1974 the ownership of the site has always been held by Knutsford Town Council.

“Our aim is to have a place of remembrance in which we can all commemorate, remember and spend time with our loved ones, a place which the community can be truly proud of and we believe the town council is best placed to deliver this.”

Cllr Andrew Malloy, Mayor of Knutsford

During 2020 the council will be introducing a number of changes as part of ambitious plans to make the cemetery the best in Cheshire. The council’s plans include:

  • Installation of new bins across the cemetery to make it easier for visitors to dispose of on-site waste
  • Creation of new flower beds at the entrance to the cemetery
  • Installing additional benches to provide a place for visitors to sit and reflect
  • Planting trees to replace those which have been felled in the past
  • Re-standing fallen grave stones
  • Removing the existing ‘road blocks’ made with old grave stones and replacing them with flower planters

A new part-time post of Cemetery Groundskeeper has been created and will start in March with the mission of ensuring the cemetery is continually well cared for. On top of the essential maintenance the groundskeeper will be levelling lawns and tackling areas which have been overtaken by weeds. The groundskeeper will help the council minimise costs and cut carbon emissions by composting all green waste generated at the cemetery, creating compost which will be used on site.

The transfer of the cemetery operation is being delivered at no cost to the Knutsford taxpayer as costs are forecast to be covered by the fees charged for burials.

“We have been exploring the options on how best to manage the cemetery for a number of years and with it now back under direct town council control we are looking forward to making improvements and maintaining a quality cemetery for our residents”

Cllr Jan Nicholson, Deputy Chairman of the council’s Assets and Operations Committee and member of the council’s cemetery working group

The council welcomes feedback on all the services it offers and especially suggestions as to how it can work it make the cemetery as welcoming and pleasant as possible.