18m overhaul approved to rescue Highgate Cemetery from 'romantic decay'

"Highgate Cemetery's plans for an £18 million refurbishment have been approved by Camden Council, allowing the 25-year revitalisation project to get started. Arguably the most famous and ornate of London's "magnificent seven" Victorian cemeteries, it has been stewarded since the 1950s under a 'managed neglect/romantic decay' approach. The Cemetery says this has become unsustainable due to vegetation and self-seeded trees damaging graves and monuments."

"The refurbishment will see a new cafe and education centre built, the chapel refurbished, and wider ranging landscaping carried out to improve access. A number of diseased trees will also be removed, which, apart from a safety issue, should also open up the canopy to improve biodiversity on the ground. Accessibility across the site will be improved by providing accessible paths, adding handrails, removing steps where possible, and providing designated mobility scooter storage."

"The original plans included a new "gardeners mound" maintenance building, but it was dropped following objections from grave owners, so the rest of the project could get started to meet a deadline for National Lottery Heritage funding. That one building aside, the rest of the plans received positive support from the heritage and environmental groups consulted for feedback. Although the project's timeline is long, the bulk of the work will be completed in time for the cemetery's 200th anniversary in 2039."

Highgate Cemetery will receive an £18 million, 25-year revitalisation to address damage from vegetation and self-seeded trees and to improve long-term management. The project includes a new cafe and education centre, chapel refurbishment, extensive landscaping to improve access, and the removal of diseased trees to enhance safety and ground-level biodiversity. Accessibility measures will add paths, handrails, step removals and mobility scooter storage. A proposed gardeners mound maintenance building was dropped after grave-owner objections to secure National Lottery Heritage funding. Heritage and environmental groups broadly supported the remaining plans, with most work scheduled for completion by the cemetery's 200th anniversary in 2039.

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