Can a Parish Council ask for donations from the public to help pay for the maintenance of a closed churchyard?

Question

Our churchyard is closed, and responsibility for maintenance has been taken on by the PC.
The churchyard wall has collapsed in one area, and it will cost around £8-£12k to rebuild/repair.  Can the PC accept donations from parishioners or others towards the repair costs?
Or could the church collect donations towards churchyard wall repair, and donate that money to the PC for the repair costs?

We are not a competent council.

Many thanks.

Answer 1

When you say that the churchyard is closed, do you mean that it has been formally closed by following the legal Order in Council process, or did the PCC decide to close it as there are no further burial plots available?

Secondly, is the collapsed wall a listed structure?

Comments

I think both - it was full, and they followed the correct procedure, and it it formally closed - there is an extension to the churchyard which remains open - which is owned by the parish Council.
The wall is not listed. It is partly a retaining wall, between the church and what was the vicarage.

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If the churchyard has been closed through the formal procedure, walls become the responsibility of the PC.  The price sounds high, but obviously, I don't know the scale of the job. With no listing or conservation restrictions, you could seek a cheaper alternative solution.

The power to accept gifts of money is contained in Section 139 of the LGA 1972 which states:
139 Acceptance of gifts of property.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section a local authority may accept, hold and administer—
(a) for the purpose of discharging any of their functions, gifts of property, whether real or personal, made for that purpose; or
(b) for the benefit of the inhabitants of their area or of some part of it, gifts made for that purpose;
and may execute any work (including works of maintenance or improvement) incidental to or consequential on the exercise of the powers conferred by this section.

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Many thanks.