The council has paid for grass cutting for over 40 years with no suggestion that that support would end.
Back in July, 2020, a number of councillors questioned the payments which amount to over £3,000 per year and a motion to stop them was passed. This provoked a backlash from church groups and local people and the matter was put on the January meeting for re-consideration - something that can be done after a gap of at least six months.
On Monday evening, the decision was overturned by a majority of nine votes to four. So the payments will go on at least until the new budget is set next year.
I have tried to stay independent on this matter in order to report on it for the Eastern Daily Press and Hethersett Herald, but it is something I do feel strongly about.
It is right and proper that the parish council should foot the bill for grass cutting. Having spent two hours not so long ago interviewing the Rector and members of the church's parochial church council it soon became evident that the church's financial situation is a very fragile one. A couple of councillors on Monday mixed up national and local finances by pointing out that the Church of England is a very rich body and as such should be funding items such as local grass cutting.
What I understood from my interview with the church officials and the subsequent articles I wrote for the press is that St Remigius, like every other parish church in the country, has to meet its own quota and virtually be self financing.
Taking away a grant of £3,000 plus and asking the church to pay the grass cutting bill would further eat into the finances. And it has to be remembered that when the graveyard is full and shut, the parish council is not only duty bound to maintain it but also to provide additional land for burials.
The Rector of Hethersett, the Rev Derek McClean, believes that the current graveyard has no more than 10 years of active life (sorry for the pun) left.
It would have been hugely disappointing if the parish council had failed to reverse its earlier decision after all as one councillor said: "We've supported this payment for over 40 years and I see no reason to stop it now."
To my mind the councillors who voted to withdraw the funding were ignoring the views of parishioners and residents. As another councillor said:
"I think we have a moral responsibility for this. I haven't found one resident of Hethersett who thinks that the support should be withdrawn, To do so would be mean and unnecessary."
I would be interested to hear the views of other residents on this matter.
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Had a wander round the village yesterday to capture a few photographs to illustrate articles I am writing for either the Eastern Daily Press or Hethersett Herald or both.
So after going to the churchyard to take a few pictures, I called at the village hall to take a shot of the latest unsightly graffiti on the back of the building.
Then onto the post office which will be shut for at least this week after postmaster Kevin Salmon was tagged under the track and trace system. Kevin is now in isolation.
With this blog are a few of the photographs I took on my Steward Stroll. Since I started the latest record, I have walked 88 miles and so am on target to achieve something around 135 miles by the end of January. My target was 150 but I may fall short. I am confident that I have walked over 1,000 miles since the beginning of lockdown, however.
Today I will be off again with the headphones tuned into our special Hethersett playlist which I am really enjoying.