Council urged to pay more for churchyard upkeep

The councillor suggested the borough council's surplus funds could pay more towards the maintenance of closed churchyards

A councillor has said more money should be spent on maintaining closed churchyards because they are below the standard expected by communities.

Mary Tavy councillor Robert Oxborough has told West Devon Borough Council the village's church council was "dissatisfied" with the condition of the closed churchyard at the parish church, St Mary.

He said the borough council's budget for ground maintenance was "relatively low" and the feeling was more should be allocated to it, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mary Tavy Parochial Church Council has declined to comment.

The borough council has a statutory duty to look after churchyards which are closed to any new burials.

At Mary Tavy, the closed churchyard surrounds the church and main entrance path, and the new burial area further away is maintained by the parish council.

Oxborough said he thought the council was "doing the bare minimum" and suggested some of the authority's annual surplus could be used to pay for maintenance.

Borough councillors said there was not much movement in the council's reserves each year, which stood at £12m.

They were told the total included grants for capital projects and there would be movement over the next two to three years.

A spokesperson for Mary Tavy Parish Council said churches could ask a parish council to take on responsibility for a closed churchyard but, if it declined, responsibility was passed to the district council as part of a legal process.

West Devon Borough Council is responsible for maintenance of the cemetery