Outlook too grave

By Shaun Inguanzo
DISTRESSED Noble Park residents are having to eat their meals in clear view of a cemetery’s gravesites, tombstones and burials – and the Greater Dandenong council says it is powerless to do anything.
The Jewish Chevra Kadisha Cemetery in Browns Road, Noble Park, has begun knocking down a dilapidated brick wall that acts as a boundary and screen between the cemetery and Browns Road.
But residents were surprised to learn the cemetery trust is replacing the wall with a wrought iron fence that will not shield the cemetery from view.
The new fence will not stop residents from seeing burials, as well as tombstones and grieving relatives and friends visiting gravesites.
Residents are also concerned that the cemetery views will reduce the value of their properties.
An elderly resident of Browns Road, 62-year-old Rex Diaz, fought back tears as he told Star that his emotional health was being put under strain at every meal time, with the cemetery in clear view from his dining room.
He told council CEO John Bennie about his health concerns in a letter dated 27 June.
“I sit at my dining room table and look at the graves and, in fact, even funerals taking place,” he wrote.
“I am now constantly reminded of my mother’s funeral and gravesite and find that it is difficult to come to terms with emotionally.
“I have a bad heart condition and under doctor’s orders am not to suffer any stress.”
About eight residents signed a petition asking the council to take action against the cemetery trust.
They presented it at Monday night’s council meeting.
But the council’s development services director Mal Baker said the cemetery did not need a planning permit for the new fence and, as such, the council was powerless to intervene.
The determined residents then fired numerous questions at council directors during public question time.
The mounting pressure led Mr Bennie to reveal that he was attempting to meet the Chevra Kadisha Cemetery trust and was happy to advocate on behalf of residents for a rapid solution.
After the meeting, another Browns Road resident, Ray Coutts, 62, said he was furious the cemetery did not have the courtesy to notify them of the changes.
Mr Coutts said residents always “looked out” for the cemetery and reported incidents of vandalism to police.
He said the cemetery’s manager believed that grassy mounds and trees would be placed on the cemetery side of the fence to provide a screen.
But Mr Coutts was not told whether it would happen immediately, or over the course of years.
He said residents had asked the council for assistance because the cemetery trust had not clearly communicated the matter to residents, leaving more questions than it had answered.
Mr Coutts said the council was not entirely powerless in the matter.
“If there is a problem in the local area, you contact the council for help,” he said.
“They should change the rules (regarding permits for fences) because this is a reverse invasion of privacy.”
Chevra Kadisha Cemetery this week told Star that the cemetery trust had heard the residents’ concerns and would be meeting within the next fortnight to discuss the matter.
The spokesman confirmed that the cemetery would be replacing the entire brick wall with the new wrought iron fence.
The cemetery would not comment any further.