OIC plans new cuts to kirkyard grass maintenance

Maintenance at some Orkney kirkyards could be reduced as part of a cost-cutting drive by the islands council, The Orcadian can reveal.

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has previously said that without additional funding, the cost of cutting grass at cemeteries is “simply not viable”.

But moves to reduce the number of cuts at some sites in Orkney has been met with opposition and disdain. OIC has previously the changes would save the authority around £27,000.

Warebeth Cemetery in Stromness is one of the sites OIC has earmarked for a reduction in maintenance cuts from twelve per year to eight instead.

That has been met with resistance from Stromness Community Council (SCC), with one member saying the authority should make its budget cuts elsewhere.

The Orcadian has asked for the briefing paper presented to SCC after their meeting last Tuesday to find out the scale of cuts being proposed and the other kirkyards under consideration. We are still yet to receive the report.

The budget of maintaining the final resting places of Orkney’s residents has come under increasing pressure in recent years.

It cost £120,000 in 2025/26 to keep the grass maintained, with OIC exploring methods to reduce the budget.

In October last year, community councils were consulted on plans to reduce the number of cuts, or look at new approaches such as using livestock or robot mowers.

OIC has said it recognises and shares the strength of feeling regarding any reduction in services at kirkyards.

“However, without significant additional funding, the cost of maintaining grass at the previous level of service is simply not viable,” stated an authority briefing report.

The proposals for the current financial year would reduce the cuts across all burial grounds from 418 per year to 312, the report states. This would save OIC around £27,000.

In July, two brothers spoke to The Orcadian on their dismay after finding the resting place of relatives in Sanday in an overgrown state.

At a meeting on Tuesday, September 29, SCC members spoke out against the plans impacting Warebeth.

SCC member Corrine Sinclair questioned why they were having to go through this process again, after cuts were consulted on last year as well.

David Harrold, another community council member, said that OIC inferred last year that active kirkyards would get prioritised.

The latest proposals show that St Magnus Cathedral — which is not an active site — is to be exempt from the cost-cutting move.

“I think it’s an astonishing thing for the council to try to save money on,” said Mr Harrold, who added that the authority should find its savings elsewhere.