This Friends group is dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of Camberwell Old & New Cemeteries in South East London.
The new burial area alongside Underhill Rd, Area Z, is now open to the public. It is named The Oaks & The Glades. There is a new gate on Underhill Road.
The council's contracts manager for the cemeteries, Mark Thompson is keen to let us know how successful it is for wildlife. A large number of butterflies are on the mixed species grass areas and the birdsong is back. Hopefully this will encourage others to adopt wildflower meadows. |
Who We Are:
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Our History:In November 2013 some residents in Underhill Road who live opposite a section of the old cemetery known as Area Z noticed that a large amount of vegetation had been cut back. They protested and held a meeting with some Council officers on 7th April 2014. It then became apparent that the Council planned to cut down a large number of trees and clear vegetation in both cemeteries so as to make more space for burials.
A public meeting was held in February 2015 at which a large number of local residents attended and voiced their concerns. The campaigning group Save Southwark Woods was established and another group known as the Friends of the Camberwell Cemeteries was also formed.In May 2016 Save Southwark Woods set up another group which was called by the same name as the existing Friends group.This meant that those people who were involved with the original Friends group had to change their name and they chose the Camberwell Cemeteries Working Group as their title. It was not possible for us to be absorbed into the Save Southwark Woods group because our aims are not all the same as theirs. |