Grieving families are unable to find their loved ones’ graves in cemeteries after cash-strapped council refuses to mow overgrown grass in bid to save £450,000-a-year

Mourning families in Bournemouth can no longer find the graves of their relatives after the council stopped mowing overgrown grass in a bid to save £450,000 a year.

Officials adopted a rewilding policy after declaring a climate emergency in 2019, and have also stopped mowing local lawns to cut costs.

The cash-strapped Liberal Democrat BCP Council has apparently opted to let the grass grow to boost local wildlife and save £450,000 a year on the cost of maintaining the ground.

They say letting the grass grow in public spaces helps with the approach climate change and improve conditions for wildlife.

The grass in cemeteries in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is now more than four feet high in some places and completely covers headstones.

Grieving relatives have said they cannot find the graves of their loved ones because of the unkempt grass in cemeteries around Bournemouth

The grass in cemeteries in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is now over four feet high in some places and completely covers headstones

The grass and wildflowers are taller than some headstones, measuring four feet tall in some places

Local resident Nichola Roberts said she was left in tears because she could not find where her grandparents and great-grandparents are buried in a Christchurch cemetery.

She also witnessed an elderly widow nearly fall over after becoming so disoriented while searching through the vegetation for her late husband’s grave.

There have been complaints from relatives that the rewilding policy is disrespectful to those buried in the council-run cemeteries and that they want the grass to be cut.

But BCP Council said the long grass ‘adds to the tranquility’ of the cemeteries.

Mrs Roberts, 62, maintains the family plot alone at Christchurch Cemetery after her husband’s death four years ago.

She said: ‘I was in tears. There is a sweet little lady who is desperately looking for her husband’s grave, but she couldn’t find it and then she almost fell.

“There are graves that have sunk and the holes have opened up, so if you got one in the front of one of them you would go flying and maybe hit a headstone.

‘A cemetery should be a place where your family graves are accessible, but it is not. It’s disrespectful to them.”

Kay Leach traveled 70 miles from Bristol to visit the graves of her parents and grandparents in Hamworthy, but could not cut through the grass to reach them.

Mourners have said the overgrown grass is a hazard and prevents them from reaching the graves

Cemeteries in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole areas are all affected by the new policy

In determining its policy, the council cited the climate emergency and the need to cut costs

A spokesperson said they had struck a balance between ‘rewilding’ for older headstones and ‘short-tied grass’ for newer parts of the cemeteries.

Complaints have been made about the unkempt condition of Branksome Cemetery and Poole Cemetery

Some relatives who had traveled as far as 70 miles to visit the cemeteries were left disappointed, calling the rewilding policy “disrespectful.”

Mrs Leach’s father, Peter Irven, died in September 2023 and is buried with his parents and his wife Helen at St Michael’s Church, where the church’s grass remains to be cut.

Mrs Leach said: ‘I used to live in Hamworthy and I used to walk past that grave every day to go to school, back and forth, and I’ve never seen it in such a bad state.

“I think it’s completely disrespectful; “I couldn’t stand at the grave and I had to get my husband to walk over it and put down the flowers we bought because I couldn’t physically reach them.”

Complaints have also been made about the unkempt condition of Branksome Cemetery and Poole Cemetery.

BCP Council, which has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030, has signed up to the ‘Let It Grow’ green initiative, which will reduce the frequency of grass cutting in public areas.

This is to boost biodiversity and habitats for pollinators.

They said they had struck a balance between ‘rewilding’ for older headstones and ‘short-tied grass’ for newer parts of the cemeteries.

Elsewhere, the municipality has also stopped mowing grass on verges and along roads, because locals say it creates dangers for motorists.

Opposition Conservative leader Phil Broadhead, who led the council until May 2023, said it was “simply not good enough to let our area slip away as it has done recently”.

He added: “The council is wasting money by spending untold sums on additional planning committees and their war on motorists.

“Although let’s be honest, if we all drive 10 miles per hour, it will make it easier to read the street signs through the weeds.”

Several road signs in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in idyllic Dorset are no longer visible due to long grass and bushes

Residents have complained that they now have to drive by slowly to look at the signs through the overgrown weeds

The overgrown verges in the seaside resort are part of an eco-policy designed to encourage local wildlife

A BCP Council spokesperson said: ‘To promote biodiversity and improve conditions for wildlife, some lawns in the BCP area are not mown in the summer, including some areas in cemeteries and churchyards.

‘The wildlife this attracts contributes to the tranquility of the place.

‘Some residents prefer short, neat grass, especially around their loved one’s resting place, and we have struck a balance between rewilding the older parts of our cemeteries, where the headstones have been in place for more than 100 years and visitors come less often.

“Our focus at all our cemeteries and graveyards is on the needs of the bereaved.”

They added: ‘Although the grounds maintenance budget at BCP Council has been reduced, the 2019 declared Climate and Ecological Emergency remains a very important consideration.

‘Part of our response to this is to change the way some green spaces in the BCP area are managed. Some areas are mowed regularly and others are allowed to grow.*

‘This will help us develop sustainable policies and procedures as we work to tackle climate change and improve conditions for wildlife.

‘It also allows our teams to concentrate their efforts on mowing areas that require regular mowing, such as sports fields and parks.

“Even in times of financial distress, we are continually assessing and adapting our operations to reduce the impact of these restrictions on service delivery.”