Cemetery Policy and Fees
SEPTEMBER, 2023
Next review: September 2025
Contents
1. Exercise of rights
2. Exclusive rights of burial
3. Application for memorial
4. Burial fees
Contact details:
Town Clerk Franklin Hall Halton Road Spilsby PE23 5LA
01790 753189
townclerk@spilsbytowncouncil.gov.uk
Cemetery Policy 2023
1. Exercise of rights
a. No burial shall take place, no cremated human remains shall be scattered and no tombstone or other memorial shall be placed in the cemetery, and no additional inscription shall be made on a tombstone or other memorial, without the permission of the officer appointed for that purpose by the burial authority.
b. No body shall be buried in such a manner that any part of the coffin is less than three feet below the level of any ground adjoining the grave.
c. Provided that the burial authority may, where they consider the soil to be of suitable character, permit a coffin made of perishable materials to be placed not less than two feet below the level of any ground adjoining the grave.
d. No body shall be buried in a grave unless the coffin is effectively separated from any coffin interred in a grave on a previous occasion by means of a layer of earth not less than six inches thick.
e. When any grave is reopened for the purpose of making another burial therein, no person shall disturb any human remains interred therein or remove therefrom any soil which is offensive.
f. Every walled grave or vault shall be properly constructed of suitable materials.
g. Any person who has an exclusive right of burial shall be granted, as soon as convenient after the subsidence of the earth has been completed (6 months at the earliest), a tombstone or other memorial in respect of which a right has been granted by the burial authority may be permitted.
2. Exclusive rights of burial
a. Any person 18 years and older may purchase ‘Exclusive Rights of Burial’. Legally these are purchased for a period not exceeding 100 years. Purchasing the 'Exclusive Rights of Burial' means that the grave may not be reopened and no one may be buried there or install a memorial without the owner's permission.
b. The Council will issue this right for forty years only. At the end of this time, it may be extended at twenty-year intervals, for which further fees are payable, up to the maximum 100-year limit. After the rights have lapsed the grave rights ownership reverts to the Council and may be reused or resold is not used.
c. The fee for purchasing the Exclusive Right of Burial must be paid to the Council at the time the arrangements are made. Purchasing these rights does not give any land ownership rights and the land remains in the ownership of the Council. These rights also do not include any permission to install or alter a memorial. Separate permits and licenses must be obtained for which a fee is payable.
d. If the owner of the Exclusive Rights dies, it is assumed that they give permission to have themselves interred in the grave. After this time, the Rights become part of their estate and may be left in a will to someone else. If the Rights are not specifically mentioned in the will, they will form part of the 'residue' of the will, usually willed as 'and all my other worldly goods' at the end of the will.
Cemetery Policy 2023
Whoever inherits the Rights will need to contact our office and arrange a transfer of ownership before the grave can be opened again or any memorial placed.
e. Transfer of ownership to someone else will incur fees for this service.
f. Ownership is the families’ responsibility; the Council will not open a grave for burial or allow a memorial to be installed unless ownership has been established.
g. The Council will only grant Exclusive Rights to an individual.
h. Exclusive Rights of Burial for a grave can be purchased at any time, not only just prior to a funeral.
i. Rights may be surrendered to the Council at any time in writing.
j. The owner of the Exclusive Rights is responsible for informing the Council of any change of address.
k. If the Council is unable to contact the owner it has the right to take whatever action is necessary to rectify the problem. If this involves a cost to the Council, this may be levied as a charge against the grave, and must be paid before any more interments can take place.
3. Application for memorials
a. All applications to erect memorials must be submitted to the Clerk.
b. No kerbstones or edging are permitted around the grave space. This includes flowers or anything placed along the length of the grave.
c. A maximum of 2 ornaments, in addition to floral tributes, will be allowed and are to be placed at the head of the grave. Any additional ornaments/tributes must be removed within six months of the date of burial. These can otherwise be moved by the Clerk or a member of the Council.
d. Temporary grave markers will be in the form of approved plastic or metal plaques not more than 5” x 4” in dimension, inscribed with the name and date of death of the deceased - plaques to be mounted on small spikes such that the total height does not exceed 9”.
e. Memorial plaques in cremated remains area:
i. Only one plaque per grave.
ii. Only flat, sloped or “desktop” memorials are permitted.
4. Burial Fees
a. The fees set out in parts 1, 2 & 3 below apply to persons to be interred who, immediately before death, were Parishioners of Spilsby.
Cemetery Policy 2023
b. The fees for persons to be interred who, immediately before death, resided outside the Parish of Spilsby will be doubled except where that person resided in care and whose last private address was in Spilsby. This exception also applies for the second opening of a grave.
c. The burial fee for non-residents of Spilsby who have reserved plots, will not be doubled at the time of death.
d. Interments will usually be made only between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. on weekdays, unless a coroner or registered medical practitioner certifies that immediate interment is necessary. Interments will not be made on public holidays.
Part 1 - Internment
In a grave, for the interment:
|
a. of a still born child or a child whose age at the time of death did not exceed 12 years old |
No fee |
|
b. of a person whose age at the time of death exceeded 12 years |
£279.00 |
|
c. of a person whose age at the time of death exceeded 12 years in an existing double depth grave (second opening) |
£140.00 |
|
d. in a grave adjoining a pathway at the request of relatives or friends, an additional |
£70.00 |
|
e. for the interment of an urn or casket containing cremated remains in a grave plot (new) |
£279.00 |
|
f. for the interment of an urn or casket containing cremated remains in an ashes plot (new) |
£103.00 |
|
g. for the interment of an urn or casket containing cremated remains in an existing grave |
£103.00 |
|
h. Scattering of ashes |
£23.00 |
Part 2 - Exclusive rights of burial
For the exclusive right of burial (for forty years in an earthen grave), can be purchased in advance or at the time of interment. Exclusive rights can be extended at twenty-year intervals for which the following fees are payable:
|
a. 8ft x 4ft space |
£210.00 |
|
b. in ashes plot |
£84.00 |
|
c. renewal of rights at twenty-year intervals |
£53.00 |
Part 3 - Memorial permits
For the right to erect or place:
|
a. a headstone not exceeding 2ft 6” in height |
£140.00 |
|
b. a vase or monument not exceeding 15” in height |
£70.00 |
|
c. a cremation tablet or plaque flush with the ground, not exceeding 1ft 6” square |
£105.00 |
|
d. a double cremation tablet not exceeding 1ft 6” x 3ft |
£210.00 |
|
e. for each additional inscription after the first for which there is no charge |
£35.00 |
|
f. Memorial Garden Plaque |
£40.00 |
Part 4 - Search of records
An initial charge of £16.00 will be made to establish whether the deceased is buried in Spilsby cemetery. Any subsequent work will be charged for at a rate of £22 per hour or part thereof.