Disgust over cemetery weeds in Kirkwall, as council manages ‘limited’ burial grounds budget

Paths overgrown with weeds at St Olaf’s Cemetery are being monitored, Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has said.

A frustrated Kirkwall resident contacted The Orcadian about the “disgusting state” of the older section of the burial ground.

“The surfaces are covered in moss and weeds and the thistles are knee high,” he added.

This follows our recent reporting of the local authority’s plans to reduce grass cutting in some cemeteries.

A visit to St Olaf’s Cemetery this week confirmed that some of the paths are covered in weeds and greenery.

There are family plots in the older part of the burial ground, so the area is still in use.

The Kirkwall resident who reached out the newspaper claimed this part of St Olaf’s had been getting in a worse condition over recent years.

A spokesman for OIC told the newspaper: “We continue to monitor the paths within St Olaf’s Cemetery and undertake maintenance as required to ensure they remain safe and passable.

“This has to be managed within the limited burial grounds maintenance budget available.”

St Olaf’s is one of four burial grounds where the council is looking to reduce maintenance, from 12 cuts per year to eight instead.

Warebeth in Stromness, Firth and Stenness are the other sites in line for reduced service.

Grass maintenance across most Orkney kirkyards was reduced from 418 cuts in 2025 to 312 in 2026, to save money on the overstretched budget.

But the council has pushed back against the suggestion that a reduction in service at a further four cemeteries would be about saving money.

It claimed the recent proposals are to ensure “consistency and equality” with the other sites across the county.

Community councils and OIC’s former contractor for the maintenance, Ewan MacKenzie, have all criticised the move.

In a statement, OIC highlighted the financial challenges it was facing.

The burial grounds maintenance budget for 2026-27 is around £104,000, but the grass cutting costs are expected to be around £105,000, a spokeswoman for the authority said.