Parish council hit by falling income at Fulford cemetery

Fulford Cemetery in Fordlands Road is having fewer areas of grass cut - and less frequently - this year, in a bid to reduce costs within its 30-acre grounds.

In a statement on its website, Fulford Parish Council, which runs the site, said grounds maintenance and gravedigging services that are carried out by two to three members of ground staff will reduce to two staff members from August.

The older graves in 39 of the 50 plots will now be left unmown but will receive an end of season strim or annual rough cut, the parish council said.

Fulford Cemetery (Image: Kevin Glenton) However, a petition calling for a return to the former maintenance plan has been raised by Shane Sayner, who said he has friends already affected by the plans and claimed “the place is falling to bits, the older graves are not being maintained anymore".

More than 400 people have signed the petition to date.

The parish council said in a statement that older graves in 39 of the 50 plots will receive an end of season strim or annual rough cut (Image: Supplied) The parish council spokesperson said: “We’re disappointed that Mr Sayner didn’t come and talk to us before raising this petition.

“We are more than happy to explain the challenging circumstances we find ourselves in and work constructively with everyone who cares about this special place to find ways to resolve problems.”

Mark Tubridy said he has been visiting the cemetery for 44 years and looks after five graves.

He said: “It’s slowly getting worse.

“Even when the maintenance people attempt to move some of the graves, there is one line of grass nearly a foot high that is starting to obliterate the names of our loved ones.

“I spoke to an 87-year-old lady who was in tears because she could not believe the state her husband’s grave was in.”

A Fulford Parish Council spokesperson said that volunteers could be brought in to help in the near future and the said work is ongoing to try to make this happen as soon as possible.

The spokesperson added that it is the only cemetery in the country run by a parish council but providing burial services for the population of a city.

The statement said that cemetery running costs have increased but income has significantly dropped, pointing to a national change in bereavement services away from burials to “pure or direct cremations".

A parish council spokesperson said there had been a sudden, unprecedented and significant decline in income from April 2024 and the new measures urgently became necessary as a result of this rapidly evolving change in bereavement culture.

The number of burials in Fulford Cemetery in 2024-25 was over a third lower than in 2019-20, according to figures provided by the parish council.

Annual contributions from City of York Council and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in addition to income received from new burials and memorials have provided the only income at Fulford Cemetery, which is not funded from the parish precept, the spokesperson said.

Posters located around the cemetery say the military area, children’s areas and new graves will continue to be maintained, together with the paths and path edges.

The council said it was also committed to improving biodiversity within the parish and that it received positive feedback from some visitors in praise of varied grasses and wildflowers coming through.

The council said it has always offered a grave maintenance service at individual graves twice per month during the cutting season.

The current fee for this service is £67.20.

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