The responsibility for maintaining the closed churchyard of St Peter’s should be passed onto other organisations, North Tawton councillors have agreed.

North Tawton Town Council agreed to write to the local archdeacon of the Church of England about the future care of the churchyard which has become too expensive to maintain.

The town council looks after the grass and tree cutting and path repair, among other duties, having taken over the role in 1940 from the parochial church council on request and after the churchyard closed for burials in the 1900s.

However, the town council’s meeting last Tuesday March 7) was told the maintenance and repair has become ‘disproportionately large’ and the council should investigate the possibility of asking West Devon and Devon county councils to take over the role, but first to seek support from senior Church of England staff locally first.

Town councillor Christian Martin said the cost of the churchyard was too high a percentage of the annual budget, especially given the size of the congregation versus the population of the town. He said the Lych gate maintenance should also be transferred.

Cllr Barry Ratcliffe, West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) member for the town, told the meeting: ‘This is a perfectly reasonable request to potentially ask the county and the borough to take over responsibility for the churchyard.’

The meeting was told the town council has set aside £5,000 for the Lych gate repair and £2,520 for maintenance for the whole churchyard. The PCC had refused to contribute to costs. Cllr Martin said a precedent had been set regarding transfer of a churchyard to WDBC in Bere Alston.