Christchurch cemetery burial fees set for £150 increase

BCP Council is looking to harmonise its cemetery regulations and fees across the three towns for the sites is manages.

An adult coffin burial in a new grave in Christchurch is set to increase from £624 to £775, while the fees for using a cemetery chapel before a burial will increase from £69 for half an hour and £74 for an hour to £94 and £110, respectively.

Some specific Bournemouth and Poole fees will face smaller increases as the council looks to set standard rates for its bereavement care services.

Cllr Mark Anderson, portfolio holder for environment, told BCP Council cabinet members: “BCP Council is responsible for nine cemeteries, governed by three separate legacy rules, which were out of date compared to industry standards, particularly those in Christchurch, which if not changed could lead to potential challenges to the council.

Cllr Mark Anderson (Image: BCP Council)

“Christchurch fees do not cover the cost the services provided. Harmonising allows us to align processes, procedures and documents.”

In the past three years there were 1,737 burials. A cabinet report said 11.5 per cent of funerals in the conurbation are burials.

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As reported, there are issues in the conurbation around a shortage of land availability for new grave burials.

Cllr Anderson said that officers were in the process of looking for additional land.

“While BCP has sufficient land for 12 years of burial at the current rate, this land is principally available only in Bournemouth, with Poole’s cemeteries closed to virgin grave purchases, Christchurch Cemetery is closed to new grave purchases while they investigate the burial records,” Cllr Anderson said.

“It is also worth noting that local authorities have a legal duty to maintain cemeteries for 75 years after closure, unlike private cemeteries.

“Finally, we have a statutory duty to make funeral arrangements for a person who has died within the area where relatives can’t be found, won’t pay or are unwilling to pay.”

Poole Cemetery

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The cemeteries in Branksome, Broadstone, Parkstone and Oakdale now only offer a limited number of reclaimed graves, while the situation in Christchurch is under investigation due to issues with burial records.

The report said there was a possibility of up to 100 new grave spaces being offered in the future at the Jumpers Road site.

Cabinet members voted to recommend that the council adopts a harmonised and update set of cemetery rules, regulations and fees for the nine sites is runs from September 1.

Full council is set to vote on the matter at a meeting on July 12. The report did not go before any of the local authority's overview and scrutiny committees.