Relatives travelling to Sanday to visit ancestral graves have described feeling distressed after finding two island kirkyards in a poor state. Gates difficult to open and long grass around headstones marred visits to Lady Kirkyard and Cross Cemetery, relatives said, a situation they link to recent reductions in maintenance.
Cuts to maintenance blamed for overgrown plots
Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has reduced the number of scheduled grass cuts at one Sanday kirkyard from eight to two per year as part of savings measures applied across its limited grounds-maintenance budget. The council says the routine work carried out in previous years is “simply not viable” without significant additional funds.
North Isles councillor and Sanday resident Stephen Clackson acknowledged the disappointment of visitors and residents, but said steps were being taken to address immediate problems.
“I regret that we have not been able to keep on top of this better,” Clackson told The Orcadian. “An order has been raised at OIC for the gates to be fixed, and the community council is dealing with the grass cutting, so I hope the graveyards will soon be in an improved state as a mark of respect for our island dead.”
Visitors described the sites as overgrown. One frequent visitor, who travels from Edinburgh each year to tend family graves, said the grass was up to 18 inches in places and access was impeded by damaged gates. Another family member compared the current condition unfavourably with a visit last year when the kirkyard was in far better shape.
Community effort and council action
Sanday Community Council said it had struggled to find a contractor willing to undertake maintenance work on the island. The local representative indicated the community is stepping in to secure short-term improvements while the council processes repairs.
- One kirkyard’s cutting schedule reduced from 8 to 2 cuts annually
- Gates at both Lady Kirkyard and Cross Cemetery reported as damaged
- Community council arranging interim grass-cutting; OIC has raised a repair order
The situation highlights tensions between limited local authority budgets and the expectation that burial grounds are maintained to a respectful standard. For island communities, where many relatives return from elsewhere to tend graves, visible condition of kirkyards is particularly sensitive.
| Item | Recent position |
|---|---|
| Annual grass cuts (one Sanday kirkyard) | Reduced from 8 to 2 |
| Gate repairs | Order raised by OIC |
| Interim maintenance | Being organised by Sanday Community Council |
Orkney Islands Council has framed the reductions as a necessary response to constrained resources. Residents and visitors say they understand financial pressures but stress the importance of keeping burial grounds accessible and presentable.
For relatives planning visits, the council and community council encourage people to contact local representatives or the community council for updates on access and planned works. Ongoing correspondence between councillors and the community will determine how quickly improvements are put in place.
The episode is a reminder of the practical consequences of council budget decisions on small island communities, and the reliance many islands place on a combination of council provision and local volunteer effort to maintain communal spaces of significance.
