The reopening of the Church Street entrance to Abney Park Cemetery has been delayed for a third time as Hackney Council had to install a handrail after an inspection.
The improved entrance to the park, one of London’s “magnificent seven” garden cemeteries, opened to the public briefly on 28 November after five months of construction but by the afternoon it was closed once again.
Hackney Council said: “Following an inspection, we have asked our contractor to install a temporary handrail to make it safer.” As a result, it said, the reopening would be delayed by “a few more days”.
Visitors to the park have been forced to use the entrance on Stoke Newington High Street since works, which involve installing two wheelchair ramps and an improved footpath into the park, began in June. Completion of the project was initially scheduled for 14 October, yet authorities have announced to postpone it three times in the past two months.
Tom Walker, chair of the Abney Park Trust, said that the site needed “extreme care” during works.
“When developers were doing the exploratory works, they found asbestos under the old concrete steps,” Walker said. Asbestos, a construction material that has been fully banned in the UK since 1999, may cause cancer and pulmonary diseases.
“It’s life – things don’t always go to plan.”
Councillor Gilbert Smyth said that there have been “structural issues” during the works.
“It’s been an inconvenience to people for a few weeks,” he said. “You can never keep everyone happy.”
The new Church Street entrance is part of a £5m redevelopment funded by a National Lottery grant. The project also involves the restoration of the site’s Grade II listed chapel and the introduction of a cafe.
Tom Walker said he expected the “massive renovation project” to be finished by late spring 2023. He added that, although the works would generate revenue for the park, particularly from the cafe, they had received some criticism.
“There’s definitely some people who think [the project] is gentrification at the expense of wilderness and that’s a fair view,” he said.
“First and foremost it is a cemetery of historic significance both for its architecture and its notable residents,” he said. “But there is a second group saying ‘it’s a park’ and an amenity space.”
“The real tension is between this calm peaceful space and the actions you take to boost footfall and bring more visitors in.”
