Fury as Abbey graves used for marquee site

Jul 9 2009 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

ORGANISERS of this year’s Sma’ Shot Day celebrations have been slammed for erecting marquees in an ancient graveyard.

Renfrewshire Council has been accused of showing a lack of respect for the dead after the marquees were put on top of gravestones in front of Paisley Abbey.

As part of changes introduced for this year’s Sma’ Shot Day events, community and voluntary groups were told to pitch their stalls away from their usual spot in front of Paisley Town Hall.

Instead, three large marquees were erected on top of the Abbey graveyard and this has outraged some people.

Henderson Clark, 56, who went along to help out as a volunteer at one of the marquees, said he was shocked by the council’s decision.

He told the Paisley Daily Express: “I couldn’t believe it. The marquees are always on the paved walkways down there, so I was shocked to see where they had been moved to.

“A lot of people were surprised about it and we got a lot of comments. One person said that even the neds have the decency to make sure they don’t walk over the graveyard.

“Everyone knows it is sacred ground. You wonder how far the stakes were put into the ground to put up the marquees.

“I think the organisers have made a serious error here.”

Mr Clark, who lives in the Seedhill area of Paisley, said he plans to get in touch with the organisers of the annual festival to make an official complaint.

He added: “I know they’re trying to spread the event around the town like they did with the Christmas lights and I think that’s a good idea but they haven’t thought this through.”

A council spokesman has admitted the move to erect marquees over gravestones was a blunder which should have been avoided.

He said: “The effort to expand and improve the traditional Sma’ Shot Day celebrations was a great success.

“The numbers attending far exceeded recent years, drawn by the wide-ranging programme of events and activities during the day and the exciting addition of a night-time fire show.

“The staging of the expanded event involved putting some marquee stalls in the surroundings of the Abbey. However, the scale of the operation on the Abbey green and graveyard was beyond what was anticipated and some stalls were erected on or near gravestones.

“We fully understand people’s sensitivities and that was a mistake which will not be repeated in future events.”