Note of Meeting with the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) and Renfrewshire Council’s Neighbourhood Services, Held in Renfrewshire House on Monday 9th March 2026
Note of Meeting with the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) and Renfrewshire
Council’s Neighbourhood Services, Held in Renfrewshire House on Monday 9th March
2026
Present:
Iain Park - Renfrewshire Council Neighbourhood Services Manager (IP)
Graham Ternent – Renfrewshire Council Neighbourhood Services Team Leader (GT)
Desmond Barr – Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (DB)
Martin McLister - Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (MM)
Michael Fedigan - Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (MF)
Agenda:
An agenda was provided by Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) which included the
following items:
General Cemetery Appearance
Glen Cinema Memorial
Recycling within the Cemetery
Headstones - cleaning, restoration and how we progress.
Remembering the Fallen
Memorial to those unknowns who are buried within the Cemetery.
A.O.C.B
In addition to the agenda items previously intimated, the following discussion points were
also raised during the meeting and are covered in the note below:
Self-cleaning toilet
Funding applications
Main gate repair
Condition of tarmac paths near McKenzie Fountain
J Section design
Recycling
Site container in cemetery to store tools.
Doulton Memorial
Council social media
Lair details on headstones i.e. section and lair number
Issuing of maps to FoHC
Minutes – request to publish.
Note of Meeting:
General Cemetery Appearance
- Debris Clearance Weekends – The first volunteer clearance weekend of the 2026
season is planned for 18th / 19th April. MF asked if it was okay to place a notice in the
noticeboard and this was approved. The volunteers will start at the ‘baby garden’ and
work out from there. It was reiterated that Renfrewshire Council (RC) skips are no
longer an option, but that RC will try to provide a caged vehicle body for ‘green’
waste.
- Path Cleaning – MF acknowledged the path cleaning that had been carried out
previously but added that there are still many paths that are bad with moss. IP
advised that the service would try to target some of the highest foot trafficked paths
with assistance from the Environmental Impact Team. IP also invited the FriendsNote of Meeting with the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) and Renfrewshire
Council’s Neighbourhood Services, Held in Renfrewshire House on Monday 9th March
2026
group to highlight any high footfall paths they had concerns over or would like
prioritised by the service
- Litter - MF advised that there are times when litter is blowing around the cemetery. IP
explained about bin surveys that are ongoing and how that might free resources to
assist in other areas. However, the large litter bins in Hawkhead are emptied by
Waste Services each weekend. Staff will continue to remind Waste if the bins are
missed.
Glen Cinema Memorial
MM asked if there will be a re-dedication of the memorial as there have been rumours on
Facebook. GT advised that the Council has no plans to rededicate the memorial. The works
currently in progress were identified as part of a conservation survey and were necessary to
make the memorial safe and to preserve it.
Recycling within the Cemetery
FoHC discussed the desire to recycle the material collected within the cemetery and that this
was going to be important for the ‘green credentials’ of the group when applying for external
funding. IP explained that not all materials are currently recyclable in every local authority
area and there is variation from one local authority to the next, dependent on the waste
disposal / recycling outlets within their area. Officers agreed to investigate what might be
possible to maximise recycling of the waste generated.
Headstones - cleaning, restoration and how we progress
- Cleaning of Headstones - MF advised that the group’s insurance policies had been
checked and would provide cover for volunteers to clean memorials. GT asked if this
was in relation to memorials already lain flat and MF confirmed that this was the
case.
- Reinstatement of Headstones – FoHC re-confirmed that reinstatement of headstones
remains their No.1 priority for Hawkhead Cemetery. MF asked if there is anyone in
the Council that can assist the group with funding applications. IP stated that this is
not available within the skillset of our service, however, we will investigate and
confirm to the group at a later date.
- MF reminded IP and GT that a request for a demonstration of the memorial safety
gantry system was still outstanding. IP advised that refresher training is being
organised for a cemetery operative and that it would make sense to tie in a
demonstration with the training. Further details to be confirmed.
Remembering the Fallen
DB advised that they were disappointed that their 2025 campaign to ‘Remember the Fallen’
was not recognised in the report to the last ILE Board Meeting. DB stated that MM had
dedicated a lot of time to the project. GT apologised for his part in not reporting the outcome.
Memorial to those unknowns who are buried within the Cemetery
MF raised the idea of a memorial of some description to remember family members buried in
unmarked lairs, as this is something that is frequently raised with FoHC. IP agreed inNote of Meeting with the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) and Renfrewshire
Council’s Neighbourhood Services, Held in Renfrewshire House on Monday 9th March
2026
principle that this is something that the Council could consider in the cemetery once further
details are known.
Self-cleaning toilet
MF enquired about a circa 2022/23 proposal from an elected member to seek planning
permission and a design for a self-cleaning toilet to be installed in Hawkhead. Neither IP nor
GT had any prior knowledge of any such proposal. GT explained that toilet provision is
prohibitively expensive, and unsupervised toilets tend to be vandalised and misused
regardless of where they are located. There are currently no plans for toilet provision in the
cemetery. However, for occasional special events attracting many visitors, IP stated that it
may be possible to hire in temporary provision.
Main Gate Repair
MF asked what is happening with the main gate which was damaged and is off its hinges.
GT confirmed that the gate will be repaired and reinstated but would need to investigate
when this might happen.
Condition of tarmac paths near McKenzie Fountain
MF asked the best way to highlight paths of concern to be investigated. GT recommended
that the FoHC office bearers can e-mail GT direct or otherwise use the Department mailbox
ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk as normal, and enquiries will be passed on for investigation.
J Section Design
MF asked if section J is to be used for the provision of additional lairs and whether run off
from any new paths would be considered. GT advised that any design for new provision in J
Section will consider and try to minimise the effects of surface water run-off.
Site container in cemetery to store tools.
MF asked if it would be possible to site a small container on site to house their tools and
trolley’s etc. so that these are readily available on site. IP expressed concern for the security
of any such container and FoHC acknowledged that the value of the tools was relatively low
and they were prepared to accept the risk. IP agreed to the request in principle, subject to a
specification for the container being provided by FoHC and a suitable location agreed with
the Council.
Doulton Memorial
MF asked for an update on the restoration of the Doulton War Memorial and mentioned that
FoHC understand it will be housed in Paisley Abbey once fully restored. GT explained that
the restoration is a lengthy process and that the memorial was now in Wales with a specialist
conservator. MF asked for the group to be kept updated on progress and officers agreed to
do so.
Council Social Media
MF asked if it was possible for the Council Social Media feeds to advertise the endeavours
of FoHC such as the campaign to ‘Remember the Fallen’ in November. They were grateful
for the support of Team Up 2 Clean Up in this respect but want to investigate if more is
possible. GT advised that the Council social media channels tend to be quite restrictive butNote of Meeting with the Friends of Hawkhead Cemetery (FoHC) and Renfrewshire
Council’s Neighbourhood Services, Held in Renfrewshire House on Monday 9th March
2026
that officers would investigate if anything is possible across the Council and wider
connections.
Lair details on headstones i.e. section, lair number and stone mason
It was mentioned that lair details are missing from many headstones, and this hinders
identification, especially of memorials inscription face down. GT acknowledged that ideally
all headstones should be identified but this has not always been the case in the past and
hinders Council staff too.
Issuing of maps to FoHC
There was a request for all lair maps to be issued to the group to help with identification. IP
suggested that due to the number of maps it might be more appropriate to consider a section
at a time. Officers will investigate what is possible.
Minutes – Request to Publish
MF asked if it was okay to publish the notes provided for the regular meetings held between
RC and FoHC. IP acknowledged that it would be beneficial for the notes to be available to
the wider group and confirmed that there was no objection to this request.
A.O.C.B
Scottish Government Regulations – IP briefly explained some of the recent Scottish
Government changes in legislation which includes:
- Alkaline Hydrolysis – A compassionate, modern alternative to cremation that offers a
gentler way of caring for our loved ones after they pass, and the first new approach
introduced in over a century. There are currently no facilities in Scotland, but the
legislation enacted now allows for this to happen when the funeral industry catches
up with the development.
- Exclusive Right of Burial (EroB) – Previously EroB was sold in perpetuity and that will
continue to be the case for all rights purchased up to 28.02.2026. However, from
01.03.2026 rights are purchased initially for 25 years and subsequently may be
purchased for 10 years at a time thereafter.
Date of Next Meeting: To be confirmed.