Reopen the Public Toilets at Stoney Royd Cemetery

A simple request. A practical solution. A matter of dignity.
Stoney Royd Cemetery is not simply another piece of Council-owned land.

It is an active cemetery.

It is a place where people come to mourn.

A place where elderly husbands and wives visit partners they spent a lifetime beside.

A place where parents visit children.

A place where families travel to tend graves, research their history and spend precious time remembering people they still love.

It is also one of Halifax's most important historic spaces, containing thousands of graves spanning generations of our town's history, what more, it is Halifax's Civic cemetery 

And yet visitors currently face one very basic problem:

There are toilet facilities at Stoney Royd Cemetery — but they are not open for public use - THEY ARE CLOSED 

We are asking Calderdale Council, Bereavement Services and our elected representatives to work with the Friends of Stoney Royd Cemetery to reopen them URGENTLY

Why does this matter? For some people, visiting a cemetery for an hour without access to a toilet is inconvenient.

For others, it can make visiting extraordinarily difficult — or even prevent them from visiting altogether.

Consider an elderly person spending time tending their husband's or wife's grave.

Someone with a disability.

Someone with continence difficulties.

A pregnant woman.

A person with a medical condition requiring regular toilet access.

A parent visiting with young children.

Or simply someone who has travelled some distance to visit a family grave.

Nobody should have to calculate how long they can safely spend remembering somebody they love based upon how long they can manage without a toilet.

That is not dignity.

What does the law say?
We want this petition to be completely honest about the legal position.

Under Section 87 of the Public Health Act 1936, local authorities have the statutory power to provide public sanitary conveniences. The legislation does not create a blanket requirement that every council must provide toilets in every public space.

However, this does not mean accessibility can simply be ignored.

The Equality Act 2010 places important responsibilities upon organisations providing services and exercising public functions. This includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments where disabled people would otherwise experience a substantial disadvantage.

Government guidance on the Act specifically explains that public bodies and service providers should anticipate the needs of disabled people and take reasonable steps to improve access.

We therefore believe there is a powerful question for Calderdale Council to consider:

If the toilet building already exists, and a volunteer organisation is willing to help operate it, why should visitors continue to go without this basic facility?

And we are not simply asking the Council to spend more money.
This is perhaps the most important part of our proposal.

The Friends of Stoney Royd Cemetery are offering to help.

We are prepared, subject to an appropriate agreement with Calderdale Council, to take responsibility for the routine day-to-day custodianship of the facilities.

We have volunteers willing to assist with:

Opening the facilities.

Closing and securing them.

Routine cleaning.

Monitoring their condition.

Reporting maintenance problems to the appropriate Council department.

This means the Council would not routinely need to allocate staff hours simply to travel to Stoney Royd to open, close and clean the facilities.

The building is there.

The community wants it open.

The Friends are offering a practical solution.

What we now need is cooperation.

This is about more than toilets.
It is about what sort of cemetery we want Stoney Royd to be.

The Friends have spent countless volunteer hours uncovering forgotten graves, clearing pathways, caring for historic memorials, recording graves, supporting visitors and bringing sections of this remarkable cemetery back into view.

Calderdale Council itself lists Stoney Royd as one of the nine cemeteries currently in use across the borough.

This is therefore not an abandoned historical site.

People are still burying their loved ones here. People are still grieving here. People are still visiting here.

Those people deserve reasonable facilities.

We are not asking for luxury.

We are not asking for an expensive new building.

We are asking for an existing facility to be brought back into use — with a community organisation willing to help make that possible.

Please stand with us.
If you believe elderly visitors should be able to spend time at a loved one's grave without worrying about finding a toilet...

If you believe people with disabilities and health needs should be able to visit Stoney Royd with greater confidence...

If you believe families attending the cemetery deserve basic facilities...

If you believe community organisations and local government should work together when a practical solution is available...

Then please add your name.

Sign this petition and ask Calderdale Council, Bereavement Services and our elected representatives to sit down with the Friends of Stoney Royd Cemetery and find a way to reopen these facilities.

Because sometimes improving a community doesn't require millions of pounds.

Sometimes it simply requires someone to unlock a door.

Please sign. Please share. And help us make Stoney Royd Cemetery welcoming and accessible to everyone who comes through its gates.

Krzysztof-Piotr (KP)
President & Chairperson
Friends of Stoney Royd Cemetery

Honouring the Past. Caring for the Present. Preserving for the Future.