People are being led by the nose by Southwark Council.

There was a huge amount of public money spent on endless "consultations" in 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000....all of which led to Southwark being clearly told by all the professional bodies concerned that using up recreation space in inner London was a desperately poor short term option that would cause needless permanent harm and would not solve the supposed problem. The "problem" is of course fictitious in any event, as Councils do not have to offer burial. It's a choice. They only have to offer cremation.

In 2000/1 Southwark adopted a series of measures to make use of the existing cemeteries. It appears that these were not, however, implemented. Rather, effort has now been directed to a carefully prepared scare campaign - panic, we have suddenly discovered there is no where to put coffins! panic, regrettably no other option, etc, have to close your park, blackmail - grieving families, no time to prepare them,etc, etc,

What's needed here are lawyers to look at the history and why they did not implement the instructions that were given a decade ago. And a proper investigation into the waste dumping scandal, how far back it went, who sanctioned it, and profited from it, and why the records of the Council meetings where dumping at the site was raised in 1996/7 have apparently disappeared.