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For many years St John’s Cemetery in Goldenhill has suffered being overgrown with weeds and Japanese Knotweed and has missed basic tender loving care.

Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association (SAGE) brought in Probation Services where offenders maintained it in the past, but due to a lack of facilities with a rest area and toilets, it then had to stop. In recent times Peter Weeldon and a team of volunteers also tried to do their best to keep the cemetery tidy, although COVID came to stop the project.

It was reported earlier this month by Jonathan Gullis M.P. for Stoke on Trent North at the Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association Public Meeting at Goldenhill Community Centre that there is 20 war graves there, and he is looking at having it tidied up as well as removing the Japanese Knotweed, adding that he is going to approach Peter Coates (Stoke City F.C. Chairman) to see if he could help in some way to remove the knotweed.

SAGE has been made aware that if the cemetery is clear of Knotweed and weeds that the City Council would be obliged to take over maintaining the cemetery for the foreseeable future.