A County Durham cemetery has won national recognition for the second year in a row.
Durham County Council’s Castleside Cemetery at Consett has been awarded silver in the Cemetery of The Year Awards 2020 run by the Memorial Awareness Board.
The board is made up of experts from within the industry and hosts the awards to recognise cemeteries that are peaceful and beautiful, compassionate places to pay respects, as well as showing off wonderful stone masonry.
The Healeyfield Lane cemetery, which has a garden of remembrance, won silver in the same awards in 2019.
Philip Potts, of the Memorial Awareness Board, said: “The awards are an excellent opportunity to reward hard-working staff and demonstrate the central role cemeteries can play in the community. They provide places of peaceful contemplation and beauty, as well as their ecological importance.
“The team at Castleside performed exceptionally throughout the extensive judging period which is focused on industry standards, environmental issues and good practice.”
Cllr Brian Stephens, the council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “We are really pleased that Castleside Cemetery has won this national award for the second year in a row.
“The Cemetery of the Year Awards recognise sites that are peaceful and beautiful, compassionate places to pay respects and that is exactly what we try and provide at Castleside.
“It is also nice for staff that the work that goes in to maintaining the site has been recognised nationally once again.”
Castleside was also one of six cemeteries and crematoria run by the council to receive a Green Flag award earlier this year, with that scheme recognising and rewarding well managed parks and green spaces.
