What happens when communities pull together

Our regular columnist Penny Mills, Director of the Devon branch of the countryside charity CPRE, says wonderful things happen when communities work together towards a common goal.

Devon CPRE is forever telling politicians that local people should be given more say when it comes to important matters like local planning decisions. Why? Quite simply because the people on the ground often make better and more informed decisions than politicians at Westminster; decisions that are right for local residents and their neighbourhood.

The results of this year’s Devon CPRE Best Churchyard Competition were a great example of how transformations can happen when local people pull together, drawing on the knowledge of key individuals and driven by a common goal. Both our winner (All Saints in Kenton, near Exeter) and our runner-up (St Michael the Archangel in Chagford) exemplified this.

In 2020, Kenton lost its village shop, Post Office and pub. The church was under threat of closure and the churchyard was a neglected wilderness. Instead of throwing up their hands in despair, local people got together and succeeded in turning around the fortunes of both the church and the churchyard in a short space of time.

Through their sterling efforts, the green space around All Saints Kenton has become a sanctuary for people and wildlife at the heart of their village. Repairs have also been carried out to the fabric of the building and some of the graves, a new vicar has been appointed and the church has once again become a thriving hub for the Teignbridge village.

Many rural communities are in the same situation as Kenton was. It just goes to show that where there’s a will, there’s a way!

This is the fifth year of the competition. Every summer, my fellow judge (Trustee Ivan Buxton) and I travel the length and breadth of Devon visiting all the different entries. We both agreed that Kenton thoroughly deserved to win this year.

The COVID-19 lockdowns highlighted the importance of churchyards to local communities, particularly in places where other recreational areas and facilities have been lost. We believe our annual awards go some way towards recognising the hard work that churchyard volunteers put in, and we hope our competition spurs on other communities to make more of these precious green spaces.

Our runner-up award went to St Michael's in Chagford. There too, local people have worked hard to improve the green space in the centre of their town. People (and ponies!) regularly use its paths as a thoroughfare, yet Ivan and I found not one scrap of litter on our unannounced visit. As a result of a biodiversity study, the community is working towards further improvements to Chagford’s churchyard and their tenacity and enthusiasm impressed us.

Ivan and I always enjoy seeing topical touches in the churchyards we visit. In previous years, these have included nods to the work of NHS staff during the pandemic. This year, unsurprisingly, several churchyards commemorated the Platinum Jubilee. However, we were surprised and a little disappointed that only two showed any visible support for Ukraine with a flag or ribbons outside.

We look forward to seeing what next year will bring.

To watch Devon CPRE’s short video featuring Kenton and Chagford, visit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uEVkUy5aSg

If you would like to help us celebrate Devon’s countryside and protect it for future generations, find out more at www.devoncpre.org.uk.