SCOTS locals have launched a fight back against a fiasco in an Edinburgh cemetery which has seen an air raid siren installed by its gates.
Jakob Assarsson runs the Friends of Dalry Cemetry group, who meet to clear litter and maintain the grounds of Dalry Cemetry in the Scottish capital.
However, the cemetery has recently been the subject of intense debate after local resident Philippa Berry, who lives in the adjacent Dalry Cemetry Lodge House, installed a loud air raid siren.
The siren sounds when members of the public enter the cemetery, and IT consultant Philippa claims she has had it installed for the “prevention and detection of crimes”.
As a result, Jakob, 35, and his group are attempting to combat Philippa’s siren, with the claims it is causing a noise disturbance – and that Philippa is even ruining graves by driving over them.
Philippa has subsequently accused Jakob and the rest of the group of harassment, and has obtained a court order prohibiting him from approaching her home.
The court order was obtained on August 9, and was continued at a hearing taking place at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday.
Jakob has now launched a GoFundMe in attempt to cover the £5,000 costs for the ongoing legal battle.
Writing on the GoFundMe page, Jakob said: “I run the Friends of Dalry Cemetery group. We became active during the COVID lockdown, and meet every Sunday at the Cemetery to carry out maintenance, litter-picking, and other work.
“We have planted trees, raised funds to re-stand fallen monuments, and cleared years of rubbish from the central catacombs.
“The Cemetery is now a much-valued green space, and the Facebook group has members around the world, many of them descended from our ‘residents’.
“Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates the resurgence of the Cemetery as a local amenity and wildlife haven.
“One local resident recently had an exterior siren installed. This ‘gate alarm’ has no security function for their house.
“Instead, it goes off whenever someone enters the Cemetery through the main cemetery gates on Dalry Road, from early morning to late evening, seven days a week.
“The siren has been installed as a deterrent to prevent the public enjoying a precious green space that local people have worked so tirelessly to improve.
“It is also distressing to those visiting family graves. The resident also manually activates various additional sirens and alarms at specific people, such as me and my family, and other group volunteers.
“The resident describes the driveway at the main entrance to the cemetery as ‘shared’, although in reality it is wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council and the resident only has access across it.
“In using adjacent areas to turn their vehicle, they have repeatedly driven over graves, including a Commonwealth war grave, churning the grass into mud.
“On police advice, I have been recording the siren whenever I am present. On the instructions of Council officials, I placed large logs at the edge of the grassy areas to prevent the desecration of burials.
“The resident is now taking legal action against me personally to prevent me from using the main entrance, doing work in the vicinity of the main entrance, and from recording the siren.
“On a personal level, I feel I am being unfairly targeted. On a community level, I want to robustly defend the wonderful space the group curates, protect its wildlife, and support the right of local people and visitors to enjoy Dalry Cemetery in peace and safety.
“To do this, I need to raise funds for legal advice and representation. As well as defending myself against the initial action, I may need to raise counter litigation to ensure the issue is permanently resolved.
“All money raised will be accounted for and this information will be available on request. Any funds that are not needed for legal representation and associated expenses will be used to further the work of the Friends of Dalry Cemetery.
So far, the fundraiser has raised over £4,100 of the target £5,000, with supporters of the fundraiser leaving words of encouragement in the comments section.
One commenter said: “Jakob is a great person doing a wonderful job.”
Another wrote: “Well done in your work maintaining a beautiful place for the community, and in standing up to this spurious, selfish and unhinged complaint.”
A third commented: “Thank you for all the work you’ve done to make the cemetery so lovely! It’s such a wonderful space to have locally! We’re with you!”
Speaking today Jakob claimed: “Dalry Cemetery is public land but Ms Berry treats it like an extension of her private property.
“She has been seen desecrating graves – including a Commonwealth war grave – by driving over them.
“She installed a loud exterior siren which has no security function for her house but instead goes off when anyone walks through the main cemetery gates.
“It stops people walking their dogs, or sitting quietly watching the wildlife, and it’s deeply upsetting for families visiting graves.
“Local residents tell me they can hear it in their homes when they’re trying to sleep.”
Speaking to Edinburgh Live yesterday, Philippa defended the use of the siren: “The siren CCTV camera on my house, above my gate, is for the prevention and detection of crime.
“There has been no official complaint made from the council’s noise department.
“In 2019 there was a theft from the cellar and attempted break-in to my house. This was reported to the police and they advised CCTV cameras.
“In May 2021 I installed more CCTV cameras, as there had been issues with people putting dog waste through the gates of my private driveway.
“There have also been recent thefts from the cemetery.”
The police are currently investigating an allegation of harassment, with no criminality reportedly identified at this stage.
