In 1955 the then Minister for Local Government was absolutely clear that this space should never be used for burials. It should, he said, become the Hampstead Heath of south London. What may have been thought in the 19th century, when the land was used for burials because it was then in the middle of the countryside, is completely irrelevant now.

I'm curious to know why Southwark is still persisting with this totally outdated and discredited attempt to close down an inner city public recreation space and use it for burials. No other council in the land is doing this, the cemetery managers' professional body had concluded it is definitely not the solution and central government is promoting increased use of open space in the inner city as a health essential.

Please bear in mind too that Southwark has already taken two big chunks of land from this space for burials. When they took the first tranche of Honor Oak Rec in 1991, they said that there would be no call to ask for more land within the lifetimes of anyone present at the council meeting. And they told the same story again when they came back for the next bit. They are now on track to use up the whole site within 30 years, gone forever, if we are daft enough to let them get away with it.