STUDLEY residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of changing its burial ground rules to allow solar lights, flags, personal momentoes and scarves on graves.
The long-running saga, which saw campaigners pack out parish meetings, accusations of intimidation and the election of four new councillors to push for the changes, culminating in a costly village-wide poll which resulted in 75 per cent of respondents backing the plans.
Coun Sue Redman, chair of the burials committee, told Tuesday’s parish council meeting that comments by residents against the proposal showed how controversial it had been.
“The result, whilst being accepted showed how divisive this issue has been,” she said.
“People have at times felt intimidated by members of the pressure group and the survey gave a voice to this silent majority”.
She added: “I do hope the pressure group can acknowledge the effect it has had and we can now move forward together.”
Speaking after the meeting Coun Karen Somner-Brown, who was elected last year with councillors Brian Dixon, Colin Summers and Jill Beard to push for the cause, denied there had been any intimidation.
“I reject that totally. We were asked by the campaign group to put ourselves forward but the four of us decided we would do it not just on this issue as we all have the interests of this village at heart,” she said.
On the poll result she added: “I am very very pleased. It’s been a long fight and I would have preferred it if the council had re-visited their earlier decision in the wake of our petition, but I believe that democracy costs money and we did this in the most democratic way we could.”
Coun Beard, whose grandson, George, died when he was just 14, said: “People grieve in different ways and these changes allow people to do just that.
“I spoke to someone who said their mum would never go to bed at night without leaving a light on, and now she can have that light over her.”
The Studley burial ground poll cost just over £1,500 and received 510 responses, 500 of which gave a definitive answer. Of these 378 said yes to the changes, 122 no.
