YOU reported the recent Astley Bridge Area Forum when a question was asked about the future of the chapel in Astley Bridge Cemetery.

Like many cemetery chapels, Astley Bridge has not been used for probably 40 years.

Although the council has in recent years repaired the roof and made the building secure, the inside of the chapel is still in a dangerous state with props holding up the roof and the floor in poor condition as ward councillors found when we visited recently. As you reported, it will cost a huge sum to make the chapel fit for other uses so sadly it remains in this state.

Other possible uses suggested have either not been suitable in the cemetery or simply not been viable and clearly action will need to be taken in the future.

I am assured there are no immediate plans from the council for the demolition of Astley Bridge Chapel, but several readers have commented that it would be better to at least keep the footprint of the building as a memorial garden than for it to be lost completely.

In Heaton Cemetery, the chapel was recently demolished by the council and all that remains is a stone memorial within the outline of the chapel.

I was appointed by the Bishop of Manchester to be Chairman of the Diocesan Committee for the Care of Churches so no one is more concerned than me about the condition of so many churches.

Having reviewed every Anglican church in the diocese, I know how important they are as a reminder of our heritage and it saddens me to see so many of them in decay.

Chapels like Astley Bridge Cemetery are equally important.

The simple facts are that alternative viable uses are hard to find, funds are short and conversion to other uses is costly.

How good that would be if funds could be found for a viable use with a sustainable future for so many of our decaying churches and chapels of all denominations and especially in this case Astley Bridge Cemetery Chapel.

If the funds are not there, then at least some tangible evidence of the past would be better than nothing.

A good example is the former St Bartholomew’s Church in Great Lever which was demolished many years but where part of the grounds remain as a lasting memorial.

One positive matter relating to Astley Bridge Cemetery is that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission have responded to my request to look at works needed to maintain the war graves. CWGC assure me that this should be done shortly.

Cllr John Walsh

Astley Bridge Ward