I have been trying for several months to get permission from the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) to build a vault in a private family plot in a public cemetery. My request keeps getting passed from one officer to another without a decision being made. Would you be able to find out how questions such are this are handled and who would be the best person for me to contact?
Auntie’s answer: Having lived through my share of bureaucratic runaround, I can understand your frustration at not being able to get a decision on your application, especially on a topic so emotionally wrought.
Though I cannot say why you have been experiencing this apparent delay in receiving a proper response, a DEH official explained the usual process and suggested who might be able to help.
I suspect you have already been through all the following steps, but for anyone else who might need the information, first you need to submit a letter to the DEH director (or acting director in this case) indicating that you want to build the vault. Included with the letter should be proof that you own the plot in question through either a receipt for payment or an affidavit signed by a justice of the peace.
Once the DEH receives these documents, the request is passed to the DEH engineering section, which sends a staff member to visit the site. A report is provided to the director and you will then be notified in writing of the decision.
However, as it appears in your case that you are still waiting for that decision, the official said you should contact DEH Engineering Manager Bentley Vaughan at 949-6696.
Just for your information, the matter has been settled. Proof of Ownership of the family Plot was done by an Affidavit signed by me and no need for it to be verified by a JP was requested.
The urgency of the matter was that two of the three individuals involved, including myself, are over eighty years of age.
Thanks for your interest and help.
Colin Panton.