Holy Trinity Church gravestones move 'could encourage littering'

Plans to move 23 gravestones at Holy Trinity Church in the city centre are set to be approved by Colchester Council’s planning committee at a meeting next week.

The committee will debate the proposal after the application was flagged by city centre councillor Mark Goacher who has received “significant concerns” from residents.

He said residents are worried about the alteration of the setting around a heritage building which “could lead to increased anti-social behaviour around one of Colchester’s oldest buildings: littering and urination in particular”.

Concerned - Colchester city centre councillor Mark Goacher

“The opening up of the church door and its location could lead to it becoming a stopping off point for users of the night time economy to relieve themselves,” he said.

“The moving of gravestones amounts to a change in the setting of the building and raises ethical concerns about the encouraging of the public to eat, drink and throw litter onto people's graves.”

The relocation of headstones is part of a multi-million pound project to turn the historic church in Trinity Street into a community hub run by the Colchester-based charity Community360.

Colchester Council has previously assured the Gazette that graves will not be disturbed or walked over during the works and following their completion.

Transformation - Colchester Council leader David King and Community360 chief executive Tracy Rudling outside Holy Trinity Church (Image: Colchester Council)

The Grade I listed church dates back to the 11th century and was used as a popular place of worship until 1954.

It was later resurrected as a vintage arts and craft centre and community café until it closed to the public in 2017.

Historians believe its square Saxon tower was built more than 1,000 years ago.

The grounds surrounding the church have become overgrown and some of the trees have fallen into poor condition over the years.

A £1.8million National Lottery Heritage Fund bid was made in August as part of the redevelopment project.

Emergency repair works to the roof of the church have already been funded by a £500,000 grant from the government’s Towns Fund, while the council also hopes to secure further funding of £250,000 from Historic England to enable additional work to the church tower to start.