Council to launch memorial scheme

EXCLUSIVE:

OLDHAM Council is set to launch its own memorial woodlands scheme after councillors raised concerns over the charity Life for a Life.

Parks and countryside boss Steve Smith has been instructed to prepare a report setting out the details of how a memorial woodlands scheme could be run by the council.

The call was made by the council’s overview and scrutiny management board, and the report is due to be back with the committee early next year.

Chadderton-based charity Life for a Life, spearheaded by Norman Armstrong-Kersh, asks for a minimum £495 donation for a tree planted in one of its memorial forests, and a minimum £550 for a tree planted at its Indian’s Head site at Dovestone Reservoir.

No charges have yet been decided for the proposed Oldham Council scheme.

The council is looking at the feasibility of planting memorial trees at various sites across the borough.

They include a proposed extension to Failsworth Cemetery, and open space in Warwick Road, Failsworth.

Mr Smith said: “Oldham’s Parks and Countryside Service manages thousands of acres of open space across the borough where there is capacity for tree planting, and we are looking at potential sites which are suitable for this scheme.

“We are also looking at the possibility of planting trees in parks and country parks for people to celebrate special occasions such as weddings and birthdays.”

The minutes of a meeting held in July by the council’s overview and scrutiny management board state that councillors: “Raised concerns on how the company ‘Life for Life’ operated and worked within Oldham, and suggested that the Parks and Countryside Service in Oldham Council should offer its own services for memorial tree planting similar to ‘Life for Life.”

Councillor Ann Wingate, chairman of the overview and scrutiny management board, told the Chronicle: “We felt Oldham could provide its own service more cheaply and be more easily accountable to the residents of the borough.

“It’s an excellent idea.”

Life for a Life came under fire last month when the charity’s annual accounts revealed just 9.5 per cent, or £34,279, of its income was last year donated to charities.

The accounts showed a total of £211,430, or 60 per cent of its income, went on staff and administration.