THE future of derelict buildings on the site of Teignmouth cemetery will be heard at the Friends of Teignmouth Cemetery’s annual meeting tomorrow night (Thursday, May 24), as negotiations between them and the owners of Teignbridge Council continue.

Last year, the district council asked for expressions of interest to restore and subsequently reuse the buildings – two chapels, a lodge and vestry.

The buildings are in a poor condition and have been targeted by vandals, arsonists and drug users.

The friends’ group was founded specifically to oppose any ‘inappropriate commercial development’ and has been working hard to put together a comprehensive business plan which was submitted to Teignbridge Council.

The group was then required to provide additional evidence by the end of March to support their plan.

But their efforts have come to a halt as without further input from other organisations, the project cannot move forward.

Neil Howell, chairman of the friends, explained: ‘The evidence we provided was based on visits to two fairly local cemeteries at Ford Park, Plymouth, and Arnos Vale, Bristol which had been in a similar situation to ourselves some 10 to 15 years ago.

‘They are both now self-sustaining businesses, run as charitable trusts supported by local friends’ organisations.

‘We also approached Teignbridge CVS who have expertise in finding sources of grant funding to get initiatives such as ours off the ground.

‘We proposed to Teignbridge that we follow a similar business model to the one that seems to have worked successfully in Plymouth and Bristol; and that Teignbridge should return ownership of the Teignmouth Old Cemetery to Teignmouth as a community asset of Teignmouth to be run by a charitable trust with representation from local organisations interested in maintaining the historic value of the site and promoting it as a green space for appropriate community activities.’

Potential funding sources include various Heritage Lottery pots.

There remain outstanding issues with Teignbridge Council to which the friends have responded.

However, the authority did suggest it would accept another proposal from the charitable trust.

Mr Howell said: ‘The proposal is that we spend some more time engaging with local organisations who would be prepared to support the idea of a charitable trust and who would have professional expertise that they would be able to provide in setting up such a trust.

‘We have had some very preliminary discussion with a couple of organisations already who have responded favourably but obviously cautiously until more is known.’

The friends are also hoping to get more clarification from Teignbridge Council.

But Mr Howell said: ‘What is clear though is that, with the scant resources we have, we believe that FOTC has taken this as far as it can by itself.’

There are two options now available.

One is to do nothing and wait to see how Teignbridge Council proceeds.

If it appears the authority’s plans do not seem to be ‘sympathetic’ to community use, the friends could then protest.

Alternatively, a suitable charitable trust could be formed with other interested parties to continue further negotiations with Teignbridge Council.