Update – 15 July 2025: thanks to the quick work of colleagues, we have been able to reopen Northern Cemetery as of today (15 July 2025)
Councillor Coral Jenkins, Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Waste and Equalities said: “Nottingham City Council has taken the decision to temporarily close Northern Cemetery and Rock (Church) cemetery with immediate effect, following safety tests on a number of older gravestones.
“This follows the tragic accident in Rawtenstall last week, when a gravestone fell on a four-year-old boy.
“We were deeply saddened to hear this news, and our condolences go out to Eli’s family.
“Like others, we quickly stood up testing in our own cemetery sites, to ensure the safety of those who visit our sites.
“We operate three active cemeteries across Nottingham and our two other sites, Highwood and Wilford Hill Cemetery, have been assessed and are considered safe, however there are a number of gravestones we have deemed unsafe, and we will now work to rectify this.
“Public safety is our utmost priority, and I thank officers for acting swiftly and responsibly to assess and manage risks. It is right to close temporarily while we make the site safe, which we expect to have completed by next week.
“We are contacting families who have burials planned over the next week, to confirm that their ceremonies can go ahead.
“While we appreciate that this may impact some people wishing to visit loved ones, we’d like to thank the public for their understanding of the need to ensure safety, above all else.”
You can sign a virtual book of remembrance here.