Dewsbury Cemetery Action group renews ambition to repair Grade II listed chapels

Dewsbury Cemetery Action Group has met Kirklees officials to talk about what might be done to protect the council-owned buildings from further damage and bring them back into use.

Last year, Dewsbury Regeneration Board pledged to help the group seek funding after the Reporter’s Help our Heritage campaign called for the chapels to be restored.

Action group chairwoman Joyce Wilcock said: “It’s a very good move. We just hope now that something positive comes out of it.”

A council spokesman said the initial meeting had been to look at the state of the buildings, but it was ‘very early days’ and there was no budget for work.

He said: “We discussed where funding might come from. We resolved to invite a representative of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to our next meeting and they have accepted. That will help us to see whether there are pots of money we can apply for, but is obviously no guarantee we will be successful.”

He added that the council would also need to look for match funding

Potential involvement by the HLF is welcome news as the action group prepares for its annual meeting.

The group will also look at issues of vandalism of graves and security in the cemetery when it meets on Thursday in the meeting room at Asda, 6.30pm.