Letters To Heaven postbox will not be reinstated at Castlederg

It followed an earlier endorsement by Derry City and Strabane District Councillors to install four special post-boxes in all council-operated cemeteries in the city and district: Ballyoan, Strabane and Castlederg Cemeteries, and the City Cemetery.

According to the council, the letterboxes would “allow mourners to remember their loved ones in a special way” by posting letters to a person buried in the cemeteries.

At a meeting of the council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 13, Head of Environment Connor Canning said the boxes had been removed at Castlederg and a public consultation had taken place late last year.

He said that, while the initial public feedback was positive, council had representation seeking the removal of the box at Castlederg Cemetery, with those opposing the initiative stating that it was “both insensitive and against the wishes of the majority of families with loved ones buried there”.

Mr Canning added: “In consideration of this Members resolved that a public consultation exercise be undertaken within the Castlederg area to ensure that the views of local residents were fully considered as part of this process.”

An online consultation yielded 133 responses for members of the public, with the majority opposed both to the concept and specifically to locating a box within the County Tyrone cemetery.

Mr Canning said that, whilst there were a broad mix of replies, respondents did not support the scheme and “felt the funding could have been better spent, with a minority of replies supportive of the proposal”.

Councillors unanimously accepted the council officers’ recommendation not to reinstate the post-box.

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter