Relatives’ fury at plan to ‘concrete over’ graves and turn chapel into flats

Relatives of those laid to rest at a chapel graveyard in Swansea are up in arms over plans to build a car park on the site.

The owners of the former Adulam Chapel, Bonymaen, have put forward a pre-application enquiry to Swansea Council to transform the building into nine flats and create 12 parking spaces. The proposed layout shows a car park to the left of the chapel, looking from Cefn Road, and new patches of grass to the front and rear – areas currently filled with graves.

It also outlines a "heritage and vista" gazebo by the car park with views towards Swansea Bay, and a new hedgerow separating the lawn area at the back of the chapel from the rest of the graveyard. The plan suggests that headstones would be placed against the boundary walls and landscaping proposals for the graveyard would be discussed and agreed with the council.

All headstones and gravestones would be documented and photographed before any work begins.

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One of the new owners of the chapel, Bill Sandhu, said the flats would help address the housing shortage and claimed there had been positive feedback from nearby residents. Local resident Carl Thomas expressed his dismay, saying: "I have family members buried in the grounds and can't even begin to explain how I feel about their graves being concreted over for car parking."

He also mentioned the presence of bats, a protected species, in the building.

Seafarer Gavin John, who grew up next to the chapel, said people understood that a new use would have to be found for the empty building. However, he noted that what had "really got people's backs up" was the impact of the garden and parking proposals on the graves.

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Mr John said: "During the war my grandmother had a daughter, who died as a baby, she's buried there." According to Mr John a Second World War veteran who took part in Atlantic and Arctic convoys was laid to rest there, plus a soldier from the First World War, and three sisters who drowned in 1912 in the sea off Jersey Marine.

Richard Christensen, a local resident, expressed his concerns about the plans. "You cannot Tarmac over someone's body," he said. "It's a massive 'no'."

Bonymaen councillor Paul Lloyd revealed that he and fellow ward councillor Mandy Evans had received numerous complaints about the proposal. "We share their views," he stated. Cllr Lloyd mentioned that both paper and online petitions against the plan had been initiated.

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The chapel, built around 1850 and renovated in the early 1960s, was sold for £27,500 after it closed in July 2022. The sales brochure indicated that the buyer would need to maintain the graveyard and allow future burials at no cost.

Mr Sandhu, from Kidwelly, explained that he had been advised that similar chapel re-developments had occurred elsewhere. He added that the most recent burial at Adulam Chapel was many years ago and that the intention was to hand over the site to a social housing provider. He assured that people's views would be considered. When informed about the uproar his proposal had caused, Mr Sandhu responded: "We don't want to upset anyone." He further added: "It is a big space which could be used better, and we know housing is in demand."

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