By Bridie Adams

A HEREFORDSHIRE graveyard is at the centre of a controversy about whether the grounds should be maintained or left to grow wild.

The issue at St Mary's Church in Ross-on-Wye has long been hotly debated on social media, and now a churchyard management group aims to review its plans for biodiversity.

The church had previously registered as an Eco Church and committed to encouraging biodiversity. It has a no-mow policy during the spring and summer months, deliberately leaving some areas of the churchyard with long grass.

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Suzi Fulcher’s parents and brother are buried in the churchyard, and she says that her family are “disgusted” by the undergrowth around the graves.

“Before he died, our dad used to get very upset that he couldn’t visit my mum’s and brother’s graves as the area was so overgrown. The church can’t be bothered to maintain the grounds,” she said.

Jean Sherwood, who also has family buried at St Mary’s, said: “I felt awful not being able to locate my aunt’s and uncle’s graves due to the height of the grass, weeds and the horrible hog weed.”

Karen Williams, a local farmer, raised a concern about the risk of grass fires.

She said: “My concern with large areas of overgrown vegetation is that in hot weather it gets very dry and there is a definite risk. That poses an obvious danger in case the fire spread.

"It would also be heart breaking for those with family buried there to see expanses of charred ground and creatures living in the undergrowth would be decimated. A great deal of thought needs to go into areas of re-wilding.”

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However, some people say that some overgrowth should be left untamed to encourage wildlife.

“We need to do all we can to help insects and wildlife as climate change worsens and wipes out species, especially pollinators. With huge respect, the living and future generations must be the priority,” said Judith Wiggins.

Sharon Hodges added: “You don’t need short grass or a tidy area to pay respects. The thoughts in your head are what matter, not where a body lays decaying. All my family are dead, but I don’t feel the need to go and talk to a stone or the ground. I can sit anywhere and think of them.”

Commenting on the controversy, Mark Sanderson, churchwarden at St Mary’s, said: “The grass is being allowed to grow longer than in some previous years to encourage biodiversity.

"It’s good to see this is generating debate. I will reconsider this after the feelings expressed recently on social media about churchyard maintenance.

Hereford Times: A sign explaining why some areas of the grass can be allowed to growA sign explaining why some areas of the grass can be allowed to grow (Image: Bridie Adams)

"We’re big on community and we want to get this right. In the meantime, we need volunteers to help in the churchyard.”

St Mary’s is calling for “churchyard angels” to help maintain the area beyond the main churchyard track on the first Saturday morning of every month. The group asks volunteers to bring gardening equipment like strimmers and rakes with them to the sessions.

However, resident Emma Jane Richards-Forbes criticised the church for relying on volunteers: “The true reason why the area is unkempt is a lack of volunteers. Just because it’s a church, doesn’t mean the expectation should be that it’s done for free. Maybe the church should tweak its budgeting agenda and pay a small amount of people to do it on a regular basis.”