I WRITE in response to the letters printed in the June 28 edition and would like to respond directly to the points of concern made.

It was recognised in one of the letters that in areas where money has been spent, the cemetery provides a decent place for relatives to visit loved ones'. It is very much a key objective for the council and bereavement services to continue such investment and improvement work and this is being progressed with the direct support and contribution of a range of partner organisations.

In support of this, the council has already directly invested in a major phased footpath improvement works programme. This work has already improved access throughout the cemeteries concerned.

Two of the four cemeteries managed by the council, Fox Covert and Burtonwood, have achieved the national Civic Trust Green Flag Award which recognises high standards of management and maintenance and the commitment, support and involvement from communities. Ultimately, the council is seeking to improve the management and maintenance of all its cemeteries to the Green Flag standards and is continuing work to secure the required budget, resources and community support to achieve this.

It is recognised that the current grounds maintenance standards at Manchester Road Cemetery are unsatisfactory. The nature of the cemetery layout and the close position of graves themselves do create access difficulties which restricts the use of more efficient maintenance methods and use of machinery. As a result the cemetery maintenance includes a programme of weed control using herbicides to treat such inaccessible areas.

This year, specific problems relating to persistent species of weed and their resistance to established control methods have caused many cemetery plots to look overgrown and untidy. Staff have been working to tidy the plots and to re-spray problem areas.

It is expected that the treated plots will be brought back to standard shortly and these will be regularly monitored to minimise any further decline or reoccurrence of weed growth.

DAVE STAMP Head of parks and green spaces