AN unholy row is brewing in Kinver as villagers have been asked to stump up extra council tax to fund repairs to a church wall.
South Staffordshire Council has written to Kinver residents informing them there will be an extra charged levied on their council tax bills for 2024-5 to pay for £130,000 of repair work to the boundary wall at St Peter’s Church.
The letter sent to every household outlines how people would have to pay between £26.15 and £78.44 extra towards the work – depending on their council tax band.
The council has said substantial maintenance work is required to ensure the wall around the hilltop church is safe.
The authority has stated that Kinver Parish Council has declined responsibility for the closed churchyard and has served notice on the district council to take on responsibility.
As a result, the council says it is enacting a special expense clause under Section 35 of the Local Government Act 1992 which allows council tax to be applied to residents living in the parish of a closed churchyard.
The decision has sparked outrage from residents who say they have not been consulted and that worryingly there is no upper limit on the amount that could be charged for “unforeseen works to the churchyard”.
Andy Calloway, who runs Kinver Online, said there are concerns the costs for the work “could spiral and end up costing residents a lot more”.
He said the council has not provided any survey results to justify the work and he added: “There's been no consultation or any engagement with residents to discuss this ‘special expense’.
“From what we've discovered, only one council in the UK has ever used Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act to pass on a charge like this and it was done after much consultation and engagement with locals.”
Reverend Richard Clarkson, rector of Kinver and Enville, has written to Councillor Les Bates, the council’s cabinet member for community services, saying the proposal has “generated a considerable amount of strong feeling and ill will in the community towards both the district council and the parish church”.
He said an inspection report from 2018 by the church’s conservation architect did not identify any major work that was needed, and he indicated there are concerns around the council’s plan to excavate at the rear of the wall in a consecrated area which “continues to be used for the burial of cremated remains”.
Cllr Bates BEM, of South Staffordshire Council, said the council has a responsibility to ensure the churchyard is safe and he added: “This is clearly a difficult situation, but we must act as the responsible body and not ignore the professional advice we have been given regarding the condition of the wall and the works required.”
He said consultation was not required but added: “We believe it is the right thing to do giving Kinver residents advance notification of the special expense expected to be implemented in 2024/2025.
“Rather than reducing the services across the whole of South Staffordshire we have made the decision to implement a special expense in any parish where the council is responsible for a closed churchyard either now or in the future. We believe the fairest option is for costs to be met locally by residents in the parish where a closed churchyard is located.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here