Anglican Communion News Service

Wales is running out of space to bury its dead and needs a co-ordinated policy to tackle the issue seriously.

That’s one of the stark facts the Church in Wales is highlighting in a series of briefing notes about its work to candidates standing for the Welsh Assembly election.

It estimates that two-thirds of the Church’s 1,000 burial grounds will be full in 10 years’ time and calls for a Government Commission to look into provision across Wales.

It also warns that it is facing a funding crisis in the care of its burial grounds which are maintained by each local congregation with no formal state aid. It has identified £16m of works to ensure paths, walls and monuments are repaired and kept safe.

Alex Glanville, head of Property Services for the Church in Wales, warned it will become increasingly harder for people to be buried in their local communities.

He said, “We can no longer take it for granted that we will have a last resting place in or near our community. The majority of our churchyards will soon be full and we do not have the resources to extend them or open new ones.

“Maintaining churchyards is also a problem now as we face a significant repair bill. We rely on the goodwill of volunteers from local congregations but these are community assets which we need the wider community to support.”

Candidates are being urged to:

• Encourage local authorities and community councils to work with and support congregations caring for burial grounds; 
• Ensure legislation supports those caring for burial grounds; 
• Support policies which encourage and give confidence to volunteers; 
• Develop greater awareness among sponsoring bodies of the value of churchyards and places of worship with recognition of this in grant giving; 
• Protect existing grants and support for burial grounds and monuments; 
• Urge a Government Commission that could look at the provision of burial space across Wales to ensure a coordinated approach to enable a last resting place in or near communities.

To read the full briefing note on Church burial grounds, click here:

English: http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/resources/general/electionbriefingnotes-en.pdf

Welsh: http://www.eglwysyngnghymru.org.uk/adnoddau/general/ElectionBriefingNotes-cy.pdf

 For more information, please contact: Anna Morrell Archbishop's Media Officer / Swyddog y Cyfryngau i'r Archesgob Tel: 02920 348208; mobile: 07 91 91 587 94 39 Cathedral Rd, Cardiff / 39 Heol y Gadeirlan, Caerdydd CF11 9XF http://www.churchinwales.org.uk  http://www.eglwysyngnghymru.org.uk