Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and Environment Agency begin talks over closure of Holy Trinity graveyard and possible solution

Church authorities and the Environment Agency have begun talks over the closure of a graveyard to new burials after the Advertiser intervened on behalf of the bereaved.

Questions have been asked of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and the agency over the way church authorities at Holy Trinity, Southwell, applied new legislation and guidance over new burials in churchyards near watercourses.

The issue that came to light when 88-year-old life-long Southwell resident Edith Murden was told in a letter from the vicar that she could no longer be buried alongside her beloved husband Reginald, despite having paid for a joint grave.

She was in the church choir in her younger years and ran the Sunday school.

Successions of her family from her great-grandparents onward have been buried at Holy Trinity, which is the only burial ground remaining in Southwell and close to the Potwell Dyke.

Reading the letter, she said, had broken her heart.

A spokesman for Holy Trinity said this week: “The Environment Agency’s guidance preventing further burials at Holy Trinity is a very sensitive issue for some of our parishioners and we are doing all we can to ease their distress.

“We remain in ongoing discussions with the Environment Agency to try and find the best possible solution and to see if there are adjustments that can be made which will allow us to continue burials in existing double depth grave sites.

“Our talks have been constructive and we hope to be able to reach agreement in the next few weeks.”

The Environment Agency confirmed: “We fully appreciate this is a very sensitive issue.

“We can confirm that we are in dialogue with Holy Trinity Church to explore what options may be available to them.

“The guidance on burials and cemeteries on the gov.uk website is intended to help burial/cemetery operators whilst at the same time ensuring that groundwater and surface waters are protected from associated pollution.

“We appreciate that every cemetery or burial site is different and sites such as the one in Southwell should be dealt with on a case by case basis, using local knowledge to make an informed decision.”

Previously the diocese had said: “This is guidance to ensure that we meet the legal obligation to protect the environment, which we are not able to overturn.”

Another Southwell resident, Michael Gill paid for a double grave in the churchyard when his wife, Vicky died and was told by phone he could no longer be buried there.

Mr Gill said in last week’s Advertiser: “I was informed by phone at tea time. Not at all professional, considering the gravity of the subject.”

After carrying out his own surveys, Mr Gill questioned whether the Potwell Dyke or groundwater even effected the churchyard, and said the handling of the situation seemed so arbitrary and uncaring.