Cemeteries and Crematoria Service

Definitions

• Assistant Director of Environment and Regeneration Services (Highways & Amenities) "Authorised Officer" means the officer for the time being appointed by the Council, responsible for all burial grounds and cemeteries provided by and under the control of the Council.
• Cemeteries refer to the cemeteries provided by the Council at:
  • Banks Lane, Bexleyheath
  • Brook Street, Erith
  • Footscray Lane, Sidcup
  • Wickham Street, Welling
• Council means the Council of the London Borough of Bexley (Bexley Council).
• Full memorial plot means a grave plot where the entire area of the grave may be used for memorialisation and/or planting flowers.
• Grave means a burial place formed in the ground by excavation without any internal wall, brickwork or stonework or any other artificial lining.
• Lawn plot means a grave plot where only the head of the grave may be used for memorialisation and/or planting of flowers.
• Parishioner means any person residing or owning land or property or dying within the London Borough of Bexley or in property owned or provided by the Council outside the London Borough of Bexley.
• Resident means a person residing or dying within the London Borough of Bexley or in property owned or provided by the Council outside the London Borough of Bexley.
• Scale of charges means the scale of charges from time to time in force for the use of the cemeteries.
• Unpurchased, public or common grave means a grave in which no exclusive right of burial has been or will be granted by the Council and in which unrelated persons may be interred.
• Vault means an underground burial place of any description except a grave as defined above.

Management of Cemeteries

The cemeteries will be open to the public daily unless otherwise determined by Bexley Council. No person other than a person authorised by Bexley Council shall enter or remain in the cemetery at any hour when it is closed to the public.

All persons entering the cemeteries will be subject to the orders and control of Bexley Council or any person authorised by the Council.

Application forms and forms of notice in connection with burials and interments may be obtained from the Cemeteries Office.

Conduct within Cemeteries

All persons shall conduct themselves in a decent quiet and orderly manner and are reminded of the provisions of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977 article 18(1) whereby no person shall:

1. Wilfully create any disturbance in a cemetery
2. Commit any nuisance in a cemetery
3. Wilfully interfere with any burial taking place in a cemetery
4. Wilfully interfere with any grave or vault, any tombstone or any other memorial or any plants on any such grave, or
5. Play at any game or sport in a cemetery

Note: Under article 10 of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, any person who contravenes article 18 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.00 and in the case of a continuing offence to a fine not exceeding £10.00 for each day during which the offence continues after conviction thereof.

Any person found vandalising any part of the cemetery or desecrating any grave plot will be liable for prosecution by the Council under the provisions of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977.

Visitors to the cemeteries shall not unreasonably interrupt the Council's employees at their duties or employ them to execute private works within the cemetery or extend to them any gratuity. All enquiries, complaints and requests by members of the public must be made to the office of the Council and not to the workmen in the cemeteries.

Subject to the provisions of the Byelaws with respect to the cemeteries, dogs shall not be admitted to the cemeteries. This rule shall not apply to a blind person in respect of any accompanying guide dog.

Children under 12 years of age are not permitted in the cemetery except under the care and supervision of a responsible adult.

No person shall sell or offer or expose for sale any article, commodity or thing of any kind whatsoever or solicit for orders from the same within a cemetery.

Any person using a motor vehicle in a cemetery shall only do so on a carriageway suited to the purpose and with the consent of the Council, and shall abide by the speed limit in force at that time. Permits allowing vehicles to be driven into the cemeteries for any purpose other than attending a funeral must be obtained from the Cemeteries Office on application.

No person shall ride a bicycle, skateboard or other similar machine in the cemeteries.

No person shall drop, throw or otherwise deposit and leave in the cemeteries any wastepaper or refuse of any kind except in the litter bins provided.

No person shall operate any sound reproducing equipment or play any musical instrument in the cemeteries without the prior consent of the Council.

No photographs may be taken in the cemeteries without the prior consent of the Council and where applicable the holder of the deed of the Exclusive Right of Burial.

No employee of the Council is to demand or receive any gratuity.

No burial shall take place and no monument or memorial shall be placed in the cemetery nor shall any additional inscription be made on a memorial without the prior consent of the Council.

Cremated Remains shall not be scattered in the cemeteries.

Funerals should arrive on time as failure to do so may cause the interference of one funeral with another.

Regard shall be had to any Byelaws applicable to the cemetery concerned.

Interments

All requests for interment shall be made in the first instance by telephone to the Cemeteries Office and subsequently confirmed in writing. The minimum periods required for notice of interments are:

• Interment in an earthen grave - 4 working days
• Construction or interment in a walled grave - 5 working days
• Construction or interment in a vault - 5 working days

All written applications must be submitted on the prescribed form of Notice of Interment to Bexley Council at least 72 hours prior to the appointed time of the interment, signed by the holder of the Exclusive Right of Burial (if applicable) and accompanied by the appropriate fee for interment. The application forms are available from the Cemeteries Office.

The Council shall not be responsible for:

1. Any discrepancies, errors or omissions in any notice of interment or other document which is required to be given or served on the Council or for liability arising from such discrepancies, errors or omissions.
2. The late receipt of any notice of interment or other document which is required to be given to or served on the Council or for liability arising from such late receipt.

Hours of Interment

The standard hours of interment are 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (weekends and public holidays excepted). Interment may take place outside the standard hours and Saturdays subject to the payment of an additional fee which is prescribed within the Scale of Charges. No interments will be permitted to take place after 1:00 p.m. between October and March in Hillview Cemetery or after 2:00 p.m. in other Cemeteries.

Any form of religious service may be used, but any other ceremony is subject to the approval of the Council. Alternatively, the coffin may be committed without a service.

A certificate for disposal issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or a Coroners Order for Burial or a duplicate thereof must be delivered to the Council or their authorised officer when the funeral cortege arrives at the cemetery.

No interment will take place unless the certificate for disposal is produced.

In the case of an interment of cremated remains (ashes), the cremation certificate will be required for burial purposes by the burial authority.

In the case of a non-viable foetus, the Medical Practitioner or Midwife's certificate of delivery will be required.

All graves will be prepared by persons employed by the Council and situated as near as possible to the centre of the grave spaces.

No interment will be permitted unless the body of the deceased person is contained in a coffin considered suitable and for the interment in a vault or brick-lined grave, coffins must be entombed in an airtight manner by concreting, cement, stone or brickwork to the satisfaction of the Council.

Every coffin must bear details of the deceased person therein and may only contain one body except in the case of a mother and her baby(ies).

No body or cremated remains (ashes) may be removed from a grave without the production of the ecclesiastical faculty and or Home Office licence for exhumation required by law. Original documents will be required for this purpose.

Interment of cremated remains (ashes)

Cremated remains (ashes) may be interred in caskets or other approved containers in conventional purchased graves, graves for cremated remains (ashes) only or gardens of remembrance. There is no facility for the scattering of cremated remains (ashes).

Natural stone or marble vases are permitted in the garden of remembrance at the place of interment and must not exceed 200mm (8" sq). No such vases are permitted in the Memorial Garden at Hillview Cemetery. No other items are permitted in these areas of the cemeteries.

Within the Gardens of Remembrance (Erith, Bexleyheath or Sidcup) all planting is to be carried out by the Council unless otherwise authorised.

Interment of cremated remains (ashes) in the Hillview Cemetery Memorial Garden

Interment of cremated remains (ashes) in the Memorial Garden Vaults at Hillview Cemetery is permitted on payment of the fees prescribed on the Scale of Charges.

Other than the official memorial tablet and vase supplied any other forms of memorial will be removed at the discretion of the Council.

Interment of cremated Remains in the Memorial Garden of Bexleyheath Cemetery

Cremated remains (ashes) grave plots will be restricted to two sizes:

• 2' x 2' to accommodate a maximum of 4 sets of ashes

The lease period for both sizes will be 30 years

No purchase in reserve will be available and graves will be allocated and numbered sequentially.

Cremated Remains (ashes) must be interred in a container of biodegradable material. There is no provision for the scattering of cremated remains (ashes).

Interment of cremated remains (ashes) in the Bexleyheath Memorial Garden is permitted on payment of the fees prescribed on the scale of charges.

Arrangements for interments in the Memorial Garden will be solely through the Cemeteries Office.

Hours of Interment

See 4.3

Memorial specification

All memorials in the Bexleyheath Memorial Garden will be available only through the Council's Cemetery Office. All fixing will be carried out by the Council's nominated contractor.

Floral tributes

The Council as part of the general service will provide vases for floral tributes. No other receptacles will be permitted including those for pot plants.

Floral tributes will be removed after fourteen days or at the discretion of the cemetery technician.

Due to limited space in the Memorial Garden, no shrubs, trees or rosebushes will be permitted. Donations of seats, trees or rosebushes may be accepted only at the discretion of the "Authorised Officer".

Fees and Charges

Fees for all cemetery services will be determined by the Council annually to take effect from 1st April each year. All fees are payable in advance to the Council.

Chapels

Chapels are available at Bexleyheath and Erith Cemeteries but no burials may take place therein. Access will be given thereto not more than ten minutes before the service starts.

Non-parishoners

Non-Parishioner fees will be charged at five times the normal rates.

Non-Parishioners may be interred in graves where the Exclusive Right of Burial has been purchased. Parishioners shall include a person who at the time of purchasing a grave was a resident within Bexley Council or the area of the former authority which granted the Exclusive Right of Burial, or anyone resident in Bexley Hospital at the time of death.

Parishioner status may be granted to other persons at the discretion of the Council.

Where the exclusive right of burial in a grave space, walled grave or vault is owned by a parishioner, the spouse, widow or widower, father mother, father in law, mother in law, sons, daughters (or their spouses) brothers, sisters (or their spouses) of such owners if residing outside the borough may be interred in such grave on payment of the parishioner fee prescribed in the scale of charges.

The personal representative of a deceased resident may purchase the exclusive right of burial in any grave for the interment of such resident, the fees for which shall be those charged to parishioners.

Exclusive Right of Burial

The Exclusive Right of Burial in a grave may be purchased at the time of the interment on payment of the appropriate fee and completion of the relevant application form including the signature of the proposed owner.

Any Exclusive Right of Burial shall be granted for a period of 30 years in Hillview Cemetery, 60 years in Sidcup Cemetery, and 60 years for cremated remains plots in Bexleyheath, Erith and Sidcup Cemeteries. Application forms for the Exclusive Right of Burial can be obtained from the Cemeteries Office.

Exclusive Rights will not be sold to undertakers, their agents or other persons for re-sale. The Council will mark every grave space according to the official plan.

The Exclusive Right of Burial entitles the deed holder to determine who is buried in the grave and whether a memorial can be erected on the grave. All such private graves will be excavated to the standard depth determined by the Council. The Council will not be held responsible if due to factors outside its control the full number of interments cannot be achieved.

New graves will be allocated in strict rotation. They are not available for selection.

Plans showing the divisions of the cemeteries with grave spaces marked thereon may be inspected by prior arrangement with the Cemeteries Office during normal office hours.

Transfer of the Exclusive Right of Burial

The Grantee or his legal personal representative may transfer the right of burial in a grave space, walled grave or vault, subject to the proper notice of such transfer being given to the Council in the appropriate form (obtainable from the Cemeteries Office). The Council will then register the transfer and endorse a note thereof on the grant.

Following the decease of the grantee, the exclusive right of burial in any grave space, walled grave or vault must be transferred and re-registered before the grave can be further re-opened or any stone or monument erected thereon or any existing stone or monument repaired, altered or removed. No grave space, walled grave or vault in which the exclusive right of burial has been purchased may be open for an interment other than that of the grantee without the consent in writing of the grantee.

Walled graves and vaults

Excavations for walled graves and vaults will be made by the Council, but arrangements for all brickwork and masonry must be undertaken by the purchasers of the exclusive right of burial in such graves under the supervision of the Council's representative. Such walled graves and vaults must be sealed on the day of the interment.

All walled graves and vaults must be opened from the top unless the right to use the ground required for the entrance has been purchased. The approved fee for re-opening earthen graves will apply in these cases.

All walled graves and vaults must be kept in repair by the owners.

The fees for walled graves and vaults are a discretionary charge.

Memorials

Purchasers of an exclusive right of burial shall employ their own workmen to erect any memorial or to remove and replace the same at the re-opening of a grave. Such workmen shall comply with such conditions as may be specified by the Council, and in case of any contravention of such conditions, the Officer of the Council shall be empowered to order any workmen to leave the cemetery and to prevent his re-entry thereto.

No masons, letter cutters or other workmen engaged in fixing, delivering, painting or repairing memorials will be admitted to the cemeteries on Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and public holidays, or on any other day before 9.00am and must leave the cemetery no later than the official closing time.

Any person removing a memorial to permit a further interment shall in agreement with the Council, place it in a position indicated by the Council.

Any memorial removed from a grave to facilitate an interment shall be replaced as soon as practicable, but in any case no less than 3 months (for a headstone) and 6 months for a kerbed memorial.

The Council will not accept responsibility for any accidents to memorials etc., occasioned by storm, wind, lightning, subsidence or other cause, or by third parties, but reserves the right to remove any damaged article subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977.

Any persons found soliciting orders within the cemeteries for the erection or repair of memorials will be required to leave the cemeteries and will not be admitted again without the permission of the Council.

Memorial applications

A memorial may only be erected on a grave space within the cemetery subject to obtaining the Council's permission and upon payment of the appropriate fee. (The relevant application form may be obtained from the Cemeteries Office.) The right to erect a memorial rests with the Exclusive Right deed holder or their next of kin or executor, and will be for the unexpired portion of the grant of Exclusive Right of Burial.

The erection of a memorial on an unpurchased/public/common grave will be subject to the discretion of the Council and in accordance with these regulations and upon payment of the appropriate fee. Where permission is granted to erect a memorial on a such a grave, it will be subject to the right of the representatives of other persons interred in the grave to have those persons commemorated thereon. As there is no right to erect a memorial on an unpurchased, public or common grave, such a memorial does not in itself confer any rights and remains at the pleasure of the Council.

Application for the approval to place a new memorial or kerbset in a cemetery, alter or add any inscription, or replace, add to or remove from the cemetery any memorial or kerbset, must be submitted to the Council on the appropriate Memorial Application Form provided by the Council. All such work must be undertaken in accordance with the current Code of Practice issued by the National Association of Monumental Masons.

In accordance with the condition specified in the application there shall be produced with the application evidence of a policy of insurance taken out to cover the liability of the stonemason in the sum of at least 2 million and the receipt in respect of the premium paid under such policy.

The name, address and signature of the person placing the order for the memorial work to be undertaken must be the owner of the Exclusive Right of Burial. No other signature will be accepted. If such owner of the Exclusive Right of Burial is deceased, the applicant must make application to transfer such exclusive rights or on production of proof of identity, make application as the executor for the deceased.

The approval of the Council for any such application will be confirmed by the issue of a Memorial Permit which will be valid for 6 months but this may be extended at the discretion of the Authorised Officer. No works will be undertaken unless a permit has been issued. The permit is issued on the understanding that the work undertaken will comply with the details specified within the application form and the requirements of these regulations.

Prior to commencing work stonemasons must hand over the official memorial permit to the person at the cemetery appointed for that purpose.

Anyone erecting a monument or kerb set or who undertakes any Memorial work within a cemetery not in compliance with these regulations will be required to remove the said memorial or kerb set and pay all costs involved.

All memorials shall be kept in repair by the owners, and in the event of any memorial falling into disrepair and the necessary repairs not being carried out within 6 months after notice from the Council, the memorial may be removed by the Council subject and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977.

The Council reserves the right to:

• Remove any memorial which has become or is likely to become dangerous or which is in a derelict or unsightly condition.
• Exclude or remove from the cemetery any memorial not executed in a workmanlike manner or from sound materials, or which in the opinion of the Council disfigure the cemetery or offend public decency.

Full memorials plots

On full memorial grave plots, no memorial must exceed the following dimensions:

• Single grave 1981mm x 762mm x 914mm (6'6" x 2'6" x 3'0")
• Double grave 1981mm x 1981mm x 1219mm (6'6" x 6'6" x 4'0")

Drawings of all proposed memorials with particulars of materials to be used and inscriptions shall be submitted on the appropriate form to the Council together with the appropriate fee.

Metal clamps or dowels for memorials shall be of a non-corrosive type.

Every memorial shall have the grave number cut conspicuously on the base of the memorial. No memorials constructed of Caen, Bath or other free stone of a soft nature will be permitted in the cemeteries.

Photographic plaques of an approved size may be affixed to monuments.

All kerbstones and memorials on private graves must be fixed on either a hard York stone landing or a reinforced concrete landing of approved manufacture not less than 76mm (3") in thickness.

Kerbs shall be constructed of a single piece of stone not less than 101mm (4")deep and not less than 101mm (4") wide. Stones or pebbles will not be permitted. Corner posts may be incorporated in the kerb set but shall be constructed of a single piece of natural stone not less than 101mm (4") high nor less than 101mm (4") square. All memorials or kerbsets shall be constructed of granite, marble, slate or other hard natural stone or durable and sound quality.

Railings,chains and wind chimes are not permissible on graves or monuments. No monument or fences constructed of plastic, wood, glass, ferrous metals or tiles are permitted. Any unauthorised memorial or tombstone will be removed by the Council in accordance with article 14 of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, and shall be at the expense of the grave owner or their personal representative.

Temporary memorials in the set form of a wooden cross can be erected providing they do not exceed 914mm (3'0") in height above the ground.

All workmen employed on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right of burial or personal representative of such person, to erect any monument shall carry out their work strictly under the direction of the Council and shall:-

At the cost of the owner, or personal representative, fill up and level the ground, remove all waste and unwanted material and make good any damage or injury whatsoever occasioned in the process of work. Perform the work during the normal opening hours of the cemeteries office.

Provide their own tools and equipment and complete the work with due dispatch.

The Council must be informed of the removal of any memorial from the cemetery.

Special regulations relating to lawn plots

Subject to the provisions of these regulations, memorials must be of a hard natural stone or granite of a design approved by the Council and must conform with the following dimensions and may only take the form of:

• Headstones which must not exceed 838mm (2'9") in height, and 609mm (2'0") in width with a minimum thickness of 50mm (2") and a maximum of 76mm (3"), erected on a base not exceeding 762mm (2'6") in width, 457mm (1'6") in depth and 76mm (3") thickness; or
• Monuments including carved figures, scroll, open books or other type of monument approved by the Council must not be greater in dimension above ground level than could be cut from a solid block 838mm (2'9") high 609mm (2'0") wide and 381mm (1'3") thick erected on a base not exceeding 762mm (2'6") in length, 457mm (1'6") in width and 76mm (3") thickness and to be placed within the designated earth border at the head of the grave.

No footstones, kerbs, landings or memorials of any other description will be permitted.

Maintenance and upkeep

Items of pottery, tin, plastic or glass, wire mesh or plastic fences or other materials are not permitted and will be removed by the Council without notice.

Small annual bedding plants and bulbs are permitted to be planted within the headbed area of the grave.

All memorials must be so fixed that they are cemented firmly to a concrete foundation 225mm (9") below ground level.

The method of fixing and positioning of all memorials shall be carried out to the satisfaction of the cemetery technician.

Any unauthorised memorial, headstone or other material will be removed by the Council in accordance with article 14 of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries order 1977.

Temporary memorials in the form of a wooden cross can be erected providing they do not exceed 914mm (3'0") in height above the ground.

Floral tributes

On the day of the funeral, flowers and wreaths may be placed upon the grave in which the burial takes place and may remain there for fourteen days after which they will be removed at the discretion of the cemetery technician.

Maintenance Planting and Flowers in Lawn Plot Areas

As soon as convenient after the interment and during the appropriate season the Council will add soil,sow grass seed or lay turf over the area of the grave leaving a portion at the head designated the earth border. It is the responsibility of the grave owner to keep the grave space free from weeds and in a tidy condition. In default, the Council reserves the right to level and turf the grave.

No persons other than duly authorised officers of the Council shall interfere with or alter the grass area of the grave, which will be maintained by the Council at no cost to the owner of the grave.

Flowers, shrubs or trees of any kind or wreaths or flower containers etc. will not be allowed to be taken out of the cemeteries without permission of the cemetery technician or the written permission of the owner of the article concerned.

No trees or shrubs including rosebushes shall be planted on any grave (full or lawn plot) whether the exclusive right of burial has been purchased or not. The Council reserves the right to cut down any existing shrub, tree or plant which becomes unsightly or overgrown or causes encroachment.

Miscellaneous

Undertakers shall give notice to the Cemeteries Office whenever they have a funeral which is likely to be numerously attended.

The Registers of burials are kept at the Cemeteries Office of the Council. The registers are computerised and searches may be requested and extracts obtained therefrom upon payment of the fees prescribed in the Scale of Charges.

Gratuities are not allowed to be demanded or received by persons employed at the cemeteries.

Questions arising for which no provision is made in the Regulations shall be referred to the Council (or any Committee or Officer of the Council to which the Council has delegated its powers on this behalf) whose decision shall be final.

The Council reserves to itself the right to revise these regulations at any time.

Any complaint relating to any aspect of the Cemeteries Service should be made in writing to the Assistant Director of Environment and Regeneration Services (Highways & Amenities).

Revocation

All other regulations for cemeteries previously made by the Council are hereby revoked.