THE OWNERS OF Parndon Wood Cemetery and Crematorium are planning to build 34 memorial gardens across the UK for people to pay tribute to loved ones who have died in the Covid-19 pandemic reports the Bristol Post.

Bristol-headquartered Westerleigh Group, which manages 40,000 funerals a year, said the gardens in England, Scotland and Wales would be “tranquil places” and each one would have a memorial carved by the company’s stonemasons.

The landscaped gardens will also have colourful seasonal plants that create a rainbow when in bloom, the company said.

Work is expected to start on the stone memorials in the autumn with landscaping taking place in early spring 2021, and the gardens opening soon afterwards.

“Over the centuries, people have commemorated significant, life-changing events by creating memorials to honour those who have died,” said chief executive Roger McLaughlan.

“We wanted to do something similar to acknowledge the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the local communities we serve.”

Mr McLaughlan said the idea is to create a place where people can “remember and reflect” and “give thanks” to the NHS, key workers and communities working to fight the virus outbreak.

He added that he would like the communities in the areas where the gardens are being built to help shape the plans.

“We are all too aware of the impact this pandemic has had and will continue to have on [people] which is why we felt it was appropriate to create a permanent and lasting memorial in the grounds of our crematoria,” he said.

“We hope these memorial gardens will be well received. The gardens will be a permanent memorial of these times for future generations.”