DITCHINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Response to the article by Mr Woods (September’s “Parishioner”)

Thank you to Mr Woods for raising this issue. He is not alone having concerns about the upkeep of the cemetery as other parishioners have also contacted the Council. Councillors share these concerns, care about the cemetery and have taken actions in the past.

The Council employs a contractor to carry out the maintenance of all the open spaces for which it is responsible – the Thwaite Road Play Area, The Dip, Chicken Roundabout and the cemetery. The contractor operates to a schedule of work provided by us. The work costs a considerable amount of money and there is a balance to be struck between that cost, borne by parishioners through the community charge, and the standards of maintenance we should all like to achieve. The schedule of work is intended to keep the open spaces in good order through the seasons of the year and to be mindful of environmental impact.

Regarding the cemetery, the current schedule requires the contractor to mow the main paths to the grave area and the paths between the rows six times a year. The whole cemetery is cut, and the arisings removed, in October. To frequently cut round individual graves would, almost certainly, be too expensive to be acceptable. The weather in the Summer of 2024 has made for rapid plant growth and we paid for an extra cut at the cemetery.

At the 16th September Parish Council meeting Councillors decided to put extra funding into additional work at the cemetery in the coming years. Since the present contract has some time to run we will make appropriate changes to the schedule of work. The Council budget is set at the November meeting; we think we may be able fund the changes by using some reserves.

Mr. Woods also suggested the involvement of volunteers. If any readers would like to help to supplement the work of the contractors by offering their services please contact the parish clerk. Inevitably, there will be some health and safety issues to overcome and, for their security, the Council will need to ensure that they are covered by its insurance.

I hope this article answers the points made by Mr Woods (and others) and gives villagers an assurance that Ditchingham Parish Council does its best to keep costs reasonable at the same time as maintaining the standards we all want.

Keith Weston

Chair Ditchingham Parish Council