Defend peaceful public access to Dalry Cemetery

My name is Jakob Assarsson (I’m Swedish but I’ve lived in the UK for most of my life and Scotland for over a decade).

I run the Friends of Dalry Cemetery group. We became active during the COVID lockdown, and meet every Sunday at the Cemetery to carry out maintenance, litter-picking, and other work. We have planted trees, raised funds to re-stand fallen monuments, and cleared years of rubbish from the central catacombs. The Cemetery is now a much-valued green space, and the Facebook group has members around the world, many of them descended from our ‘residents’.

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates the resurgence of the Cemetery as a local amenity and wildlife haven. One local resident recently had an exterior siren installed. This ‘gate alarm’ has no security function for their house. Instead, it goes off whenever someone enters the Cemetery through the main cemetery gates on Dalry Road, from early morning to late evening, seven days a week.

The siren has been installed as a deterrent to prevent the public enjoying a precious green space that local people have worked so tirelessly to improve. It is also distressing to those visiting family graves. The resident also manually activates various additional sirens and alarms at specific people, such as me and my family, and other group volunteers.

The resident describes the driveway at the main entrance to the cemetery as ‘shared’, although in reality it is wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council and the resident only has access across it. In using adjacent areas to turn their vehicle, they have repeatedly driven over graves, including a Commonwealth war grave, churning the grass into mud.

On police advice, I have been recording the siren whenever I am present. On the instructions of Council officials, I placed large logs at the edge of the grassy areas to prevent the desecration of burials.

The resident is now taking legal action against me personally to prevent me from using the main entrance, doing work in the vicinity of the main entrance, and from recording the siren.

On a personal level, I feel I am being unfairly targeted. On a community level, I want to robustly defend the wonderful space the group curates, protect its wildlife, and support the right of local people and visitors to enjoy Dalry Cemetery in peace and safety.

To do this, I need to raise funds for legal advice and representation. As well as defending myself against the initial action, I may need to raise counter litigation to ensure the issue is permanently resolved.

All money raised will be accounted for and this information will be available on request. Any funds that are not needed for legal representation and associated expenses will be used to further the work of the Friends of Dalry Cemetery.

"Led by Jakob Assarsson, Friends of Dalry Cemetery has made a tremendous impact in recent years. Thanks to their work, the Cemetery is now a valued and improving green space in our community. Please support them if you can."

- Councillor Ross McKenzie, Independent Councillor for Sighthill/Gorgie

Thank you!

NEXT HEARING DATE: April 9, 2024