Rother District Council Agenda Item:

Report to - Cabinet

Date - 1 November 2004

Report of the - Director of Services

Subject - Cemetery Management and Memorial Safety

Recommendation: It be RESOLVED that the proposals set out in Paragraph 7 of the report be approved and adopted.

This report supports the Key Aim of Safeguarding Health and Public Safety.

Lead Cabinet Member: Councillor William Clements

Head of Service: Alwyn Roebuck

1. As a burial authority this Council has a duty to bury the dead (under “The Public Health Control of Diseases Act 1984 (National Assisted Burials)” where no other arrangement exists. It has chosen to achieve this by maintaining two cemeteries, at Bexhill and Rye, both cemeteries being over 100 years old. These cemeteries currently deal with an average of 185 ground burials and cremated remains per year. In providing and maintaining these cemeteries the Council has a duty of care to all visitors and workers within the cemetery, to manage them effectively and make arrangements to meet the current and future demand. These areas of responsibility can be separated into four broad areas.

2. Cemetery Regulations

Local Authorities are governed by the “Local Authority Cemeteries Order” (and this Authority has approved regulations in place based on this order) for the operation of its cemeteries to ensure the service remains relevant and focused on the needs of the public and ensures decisions taken are on a fair basis. Following the failure of many memorial stones to pass the Council’s safety checks it has become clear new and more appropriate regulations need to be applied when granting permission for the erection of a memorial stone. This report seeks new regulations that will improve the standard of workmanship, on-going maintenance and safety of all memorial stones in Rother District Council cemeteries and churchyards (Appendix 1 refers).

3. Memorial Testing

The Council’s programme of memorial testing in its own cemeteries has been completed. Officers would have continued this testing in the four churchyards managed by Rother District Council. However the Diocese of Chichester is withholding a Faculty, (permission to carry out work) thereby preventing the
completion of our work. The Council has four options in the way it moves forward and these are set out in Appendix 2.

4. Health and Safety – Maintenance

The laying down of memorials that have failed the safety test and remain on the ground or the owner cannot be traced are becoming a maintenance problem and also present a risk albeit a reduced risk, to the public of tripping or falling over these memorials. The memorials remaining on the ground in this way now detract from the previously high level of maintenance delivered in the cemeteries and are in themselves a health and safety issue (Appendix 3) looks at the options open to the Council.

5. Cemetery Management – Future Provision

Space for burials at both Bexhill and Rye cemeteries is now limited and the Council needs to look to the future and how it is to continue providing this service. It was also a matter considered by the Project Budget Board which questioned the cost of the service and whether Rother District Council should continue providing cemetery provision.

However, land has been identified adjoining both cemeteries which is suitable for extensions; there are, however, possible changes to the existing method of service provision which could extend the cemeteries ability to deal with interments but would require a change in the service delivery to the public. Appendix 4 addresses this issue.

6. Summary

Many of the options raised in Appendices 1 - 4 are interlinked and need to be considered as a whole in terms of on-going service delivery. It is particularly important that Members set the future standards of maintenance required in our cemeteries to prevent memorial stones causing injury but also becoming a financial risk to the Council. The proposals set out in paragraph 7 draw together the separate elements currently affecting the Council’s ability to manage its cemetery and churchyard service.

7. Proposals

It is proposed that the following options be approved and integrated into the Council’s Cemetery Regulations, or actioned as appropriate.

i) Cemetery Management – Regulations

(a) All future memorial approvals will be granted for a term equal to the guarantee given by the monumental mason fixing the memorial. This period of 10 years or 30 years with a 10 yearly safety check (at the owners cost) by an approved monumental mason could then be renewed on receipt of an extended or new guarantee. This would dramatically reduce the Council’s cost of making safe any unsafe memorials erected after the scheme’s implementation and help in maintaining contact with owners.

There is no direct cost to the Council in implementing this proposal but it will require additional administration.

(b) In order to standardise on the quality of workmanship it is suggested that the Council adopts a Monumental Masons Registration Scheme, that will require any mason wishing to work in this Council’s cemeteries or churchyards to meet the standards of the National Association of Memorial Masons, NAMM’s or BSI. This would ensure the quality of workmanship and when combined with the guarantee scheme detailed above in (7a) should eliminate unsafe new memorials from its date of implementation.

(c)  In order to meet the request of families wishing to place a memorial stone in the cemeteries in memory of loved ones buried elsewhere, it is proposed that such memorial stones be approved and laid in areas of the cemetery unsuitable for ground burial e.g. banks and kerbs. This would meet the needs of the bereaved and raise additional income for the Council.

ii) Health and Safety – Memorial Testing

Confirm the Council’s existing policy of using a gentle push testing remains its adopted method of memorial testing and advise the Diocese of the Health and Safety Executive’s opinion in this matter with particular reference to the inappropriate use of topple testing. Obtain Council’s opinion on our legal liabilities in relation to maintenance of closed churchyards.

iii) Health and Safety – Ongoing Maintenance

When considering the section of the more elderly community who most regularly visit the cemeteries it is likely there will be incidents of minor trips and falls caused by the laid-down headstones. To reduce this risk it is proposed that the headstones are laid flush with the surface of the ground. There are approximately 400 memorial stones currently laid down in the two cemeteries with an estimated one-off cost of £8,000 for laying them flush with the grass level to be met from the cemetery grounds maintenance budget by deleting items of repairs and maintenance. Should Cabinet choose to take this option it would be appropriate to carry out the same work in the four churchyards at an estimated cost of £1,000 assuming a Faculty is eventually granted subject to additional costs. If this option is selected for implementation in churchyards a new faculty from the Diocese will be required.

iv) Cemetery Management – Future Provision

The proposed cemetery extensions at Bexhill and Rye are dependent on the purchase of additional adjoining land. Subject to their acquisition this will give the Council a further 50 years of provision. The approved capital programme contains provision of £140,000 for this expenditure (Items 3.04 and 3.01). To extend the cemeteries will result in the Council incurring additional running costs, albeit offset in part through additional fee income. Estimated additional recurring costs will be minimal in the early years of its use as land will only be brought into use as required estimated at £3,000 pa. No provision exists for this expenditure in the revenue budget and therefore the cost will fall on the local taxpayer. It is recommended that the proposal be assessed as part of the budget setting process for future years and form part of the setting of future corporate priorities by Cabinet.

Anthony Leonard

Director of Services

Appendix 1

Cemetery Management – Regulations

1. The Council manages its cemeteries in accordance with its approved regulations. To ensure the service remains relevant, focused on the public’s expectations and meet our statutory duties Council has revised its regulations as required.

2. Cabinet last reviewed its cemetery regulations in April 2003 when it adopted a policy of accepting a wider range of inscriptions on memorials. Due to a change in requirements for memorial testing the need to set higher standards of memorial maintenance and the Budget Board deliberations on containing costs for service provision it is appropriate that Council again reviews it’s cemetery regulations.

3. The current cemetery regulations make provision for a memorial application to be granted thereby allowing the memorial to remain in place for the remaining period of the grave grant (given sole right to be interred within that grave) which can be up to 50 years. A combination of deterioration of the memorial and lost contact with the grave owner often results in memorials becoming a risk to the public and ground staff. It is therefore proposed that:

4. Options

i) All future memorial approvals will be granted to a term equal to the guarantee given by the monumental mason fixing the memorial. This period of 10 years or 30 years with 10 yearly safety checks by an approved monumental mason could then be renewed on receipt of an extended or new guarantee from an approved monumental mason. This would dramatically reduce the Council’s cost of making safe any unsafe memorials erected after the scheme’s implementation, help in maintaining contact with owners and improve the safety of the Council’s cemeteries.

There is no direct cost to the Council in implementing, this proposal, but it will require administration but have no additional cost, and will have a small but positive effect on income.

ii) There is concern nationally at the quality of work carried out on memorial stones, this has led in some instances to relatively new memorial stones failing the safety test. In order to standardise on the quality of workmanship in Rother District Council cemeteries it is suggested that the Council adopts a Monumental Masons Registration Scheme. This will require any mason wishing to work in this Council’s cemeteries or churchyards to meet the standards of the National Association of Monumental Masons, NAMM’s or BSI. This would ensure the quality of workmanship meets a national standard and when combined with the guarantee scheme in Option i) above should dramatically reduce unsafe memorials from its date of implementation.

iii) Requests are often received to place a memorial in the cemeteries in memory of loved ones buried elsewhere, currently these requests are refused as it would use the limited land remaining available for ground burial which is limited.

It is proposed that such memorial be approved and laid in areas of the cemetery unsuitable for ground burial e.g. banks and kerbs. This would meet the needs of the bereaved and raise additional income for the Council.

5. Proposal

That Options a, b and c are approved and the Cemetery Regulations amended accordingly.


Appendix 2

Health and Safety – Memorial Testing

1. (Minute CB153/05/02) presented a report concerning the Council’s obligation under its duty of care and Health and Safety Legislation to inspect, risk assess and make safe memorials in its cemeteries and churchyards. Having considered its options, Cabinet resolved that: -

“The Code of Practice, Summary of Memorial Safety, from the Institute of Burial and Cremation Administration be adopted and a programme of inspection based on that Code be introduced”; and “Where they are found to be an immediate danger to the public or staff, memorials be made safe by laying them down within the grave space and the owners be invited to re-fix the memorials at their own expense, and if that fails, the memorials stay laid down”.

2. The inspection by a gentle push test risk analysis and making safe by means of laying down has now been completed in Bexhill and Rye cemeteries. Officers are now in the process of re-visiting those memorial stones, which have been refixed by a monumental mason or other person. However, this process in relation to the four closed churchyards maintained by the Council has yet to commence due to the Diocese of Chichester withholding permission for Rother District Council to carry out the testing.

3. Under Ecclesiastical law a Faculty (permission to carry out work) must be obtained before work can commence on burial grounds and churchyards. An application for the Faculty for both cemeteries and the four churchyards was made and granted but then withdrawn by the Diocese in relation to the churchyards following representation from the local ministers to the Diocese of Chichester; these objections were against the method of testing employed by Rother District Council.

4. Due to the importance of risk assessment and testing of memorial stones and the possibility of a stone injuring a member of the public, officers met with the Diocese office and local minister in January 2004 in order to resolve this matter. We have now received confirmation from the Diocese that a new Faculty for memorial testing will only be granted subject to the use of a different method of testing not previously adopted by this Council; this being known as the “topple test”. For Rother District Council to adopt this mechanised “topple test” it will require the Council’s staff to be trained in this technique and purchase of suitable equipment or the whole work put out to a private company or consultant trained in this technique. The cost for this change in the method of testing would have to be met in full by RDC if the Council concedes to the Diocese faculty.