A village church in Newcastle has hit out at “underhand” council bosses after the local authority stopped cutting its grass.
St Matthew’s Church, in Dinnington, claims Newcastle City Council has broken a decades-long pact to look after the churchyard free of charge and is now facing a hefty bill to cover the costs. The church’s vicar said the news came “out of the blue with no notice whatsoever” and that he was quoted £475 from the council for just four more cuts this year.
The Rev Mark Edwards MBE, who says a “gentlemen’s agreement” with the civic centre over the churchyard’s upkeep had been in place long before he arrived in the parish in 2008, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are a small fellowship and those who worship with us give voluntarily and sacrificially out of their own pockets to enable us to remain open to the community.
“To suddenly be told out of the blue that we must now pay for a service which up until now has been free of charge, has come as a huge disappointment.” He added: “To be told we will now have to pay for something that has always been free will put me personally, and the church as a whole, under a considerable burden.”
The church is now left scrambling to find extra money as it has neither the specialist equipment, such as a ride-on lawnmower, nor the necessary staff to carry out the essential work itself.
Mr Edwards added: “We simply do not have the funding or able-bodied people who can cut the grass for us. Naturally we want to avoid allowing our church yard to be unkempt as we feel a sense of responsibility to all those who have loved ones buried in the church grounds and to the wider community to keep our grounds in a good state.
“We receive no funding from the Church of England, on the contrary we have to pay the Diocese in excess of £13,000 each year as part of the Parish share.
“We are saddened that the Labour-run council has taken this stance and has put us in a position where we are going to have to try and find funding to be able to keep our church yard neat and tidy. To break a gentlemen's agreement in this way without any warning is regrettable and personally I feel underhand.”
Newcastle City Council was contacted for a response.
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