Community partnership delivers at churchyard
Volunteers are being thanked for their efforts to maintain a closed churchyard in Sedgley.
It comes after a community partnership was formed including the Friends of All Saints Graveyard, the Diocese of Worcester, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Dudley Council.
The Friends of All Saints Group has been undertaking maintenance work at the site for several years. The closed churchyard is owned by the Parish of All Saints, with the responsibility for management held by the local authority. The work has been challenging with concerns around health and safety, wildlife and biodiversity and damage to graves.
Work on the site stopped in 2024 whilst agreement was sought on a suitable approach.
A grounds maintenance plan for the site has now been finalised after input from all the community partners. The Friends group have been provided with key contact information to seek any advice needed from the council. The volunteers have now returned to the site providing valuable maintenance support at the churchyard.
Council bosses hope the plan will provide guidance and support to the working group to stay safe, avoid any damage to graves and protect biodiversity, including the significant badger population present at the churchyard.
The partnership is working closely with the War Graves Commission, as there are seven war graves not safely accessible in the lower part of the site. It is hoped a memorial can be installed at the top end of the churchyard, near the entrance way, to recognise these graves.
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said:
“This has been a challenging site to work with for several reasons, so we are delighted to be working with representatives of the church and local volunteers to agree a maintenance plan for this churchyard.
“Significant parts of the site, particularly those in the lower sloping end, were largely taken back by nature many years ago. However, the work plan agreed aims to keep as many graves as possible accessible for those who wish to visit.
“Due to badger activity in and below ground there are limits to the work we can safely do, but we are pleased to see the site already looking better. I’d like to thank the amazing volunteers from the Friends group which is doing some incredible work.
“I’m also very pleased to be working with the War Graves Commission to look at getting a plaque installed on the site – subject to statutory consents – to remember the fallen heroes who were laid to rest here.”
The Archdeacon of Dudley, Nikki Groarke, said:
“We are pleased that this partnership has been established.
“The site is a difficult one to maintain but holds memories of loved ones and fallen soldiers from the local area.
“We are grateful to those volunteers who help to ensure they are as accessible as possible alongside protecting local wildlife.”
Paul Rhodes, of the Friends of All Saints Graveyard group, said:
“In 2019, when the friends group was formed, it was our full intention to clear All Saints graveyard so the families that had relatives buried there could pay their respects to their loved ones. I discovered that the graveyard was in a bad state of maintenance that we knew we couldn't let continue.
“So, for the last five years, our friends group has taken it upon ourselves to clear this much-loved graveyard in the heart of Sedgley.
“Now, with the full support of the council, we will continue our efforts.”