Tetney Cemetery

Cemetery regulations

Tetney Parish Council

Cemetery Regulations

Overview

All Local Authority managed cemeteries are subject to standards and conditions known as cemetery rules and regulations. These are designed to inform all Cemetery users the aspects of the management of the cemeteries and the reasonable requirements applicable to them.

The regulations include the statutory requirements contained within the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977 together with any other relevant legislation that governs this service.

The Cemetery covered by these regulations is Tetney Cemetery, Humberston Rd, Tetney. This cemetery is run, controlled and maintained by Tetney Parish Council (hereafter known as the Council).

The purchasing of the Exclusive Right of burial means the right to be buried within the cemetery has been bought. The land has NOT been bought and is still owned by the Council.

The Cemetery will be open from 8am until sunset.

The following items are NOT permitted in the cemetery; glass, glass beads, chippings, pebbles, stones, slate or similar, fencing, edging, kerbing sets of any material, battery and solar powered lights, windmills, balloons and wind-chimes (including on children’s graves) any item deemed to be offensive, unseemly or dangerous, any breakable item, food, drink and associated wrappers must not be left on graves or memorials, litter must not be left anywhere and any plastic wrappings from flowers should be removed and taken home.

Any items placed within the cemetery which are not permitted within these rules and regulations will be removed by the Parish Council and kept for a short period of time in order for them to be reclaimed. After one month, the Council retains the right to dispose of any such items.

All persons entering the cemetery do so at their own risk and the Council shall not be liable (except in the respect of personal injury or death caused by the Council’s negligence) for any injury or damage sustain, regardless of the form of action, whether in contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise (including negligence or breach of statutory duty).

As above the Council shall not be liable for personal property brought onto the site or for any damage or loss of memorials or memorabilia. Any items left on site are left at the person’s own risk and it is preferred that no such items are left.

Only smaller scale plants in containers are allowed when placed ON the memorial stone and on no other part of the grave. Trees and shrubs are not permitted to be planted anywhere.

  1. General Regulations
  1. The burial ground is a lawned cemetery and is open daily to the public at all times. Groups of youths are not permitted in the cemetery. All visitors must observe perfect decorum at all times. Dogs are permitted on leads and under control, all dog foul mess must be removed by the owner.
  2. Memorials may not be erected on any grave without the permission of the Parish Council. An application on the prescribed forms with drawings showing all dimensions and inscriptions must be submitted to the Parish Council as per stated regulations.
  3. The Parish Council Clerk will allocate grave spaces on behalf of Tetney Parish Council.
  4. The scattering of ashes within the cemetery is not permitted, because of the damage this causes to the ground.
  5. Levelling of plots will be carried out twice yearly in March/April and September/October subject to weather conditions.
  6. Some older existing graves and ashes plots may have larger and different styles of memorial. This is due to historical practice or regulations and does NOT set a precedence for new memorial applications.
  7. It is the responsibility of the Exclusive Right of Burial deed holder, next of kin or executor to inform and update the Parish Council with any change of address or contact details.
  8. All persons must conduct themselves in a decent, quiet manner and must not create any disturbance or nuisance, interfere with any grave, memorial or floral tribute, play any sport, games or ride a bicycle/skateboard, enter the cemetery when it is closed or deposit litter. Council staff and members have the right to remove exclude any persons whose conduct is unsatisfactory.

 

 

  1. Right of Interment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          a. All correspondence regarding the grave and/or memorial will be communicated to and received from all executors, next of kin or Exclusive Right of Burial deed owner.

            b. The right of interment, erection of memorials and the reservation of grave spaces are exclusive to residents of Tetney upon payment as set out in the scale of fees. Persons residing in residential care homes,         nursing homes and hospitals outside of Tetney who were, prior to    their removal thereto, inhabitants of Tetney, which is provable, will be classed as residents within 5 years of their removal thereto. Residents at The Fountains Care Home MUST have been on the electoral register for Tetney for 5 years prior to death to be classed as a resident or have a proven and traceable residential address within Tetney electoral area within 5 years of death occurring.

            c.    Non-residents will NOT be permitted to purchase any burial or cremation plot for their own or others use unless it is on behalf of a deceased resident.

 

  1. Notice of Interment
  1. Permission for interment, erection of memorials, reservation of plots and scale of fees form part of these regulations and are available from the Parish Clerk.
  2. The applicant will receive a copy of the regulations, once an application for permission has been received and approved.

 

  1. Coffins

The deceased must be placed in a properly constructed coffin, urn made from suitable bio-degradable materials such as wood, wicker, cane, bamboo, wool, cardboard etc, as agreed with the relevant undertaker before burial will be allowed to take place.

 

  1. Digging and Re-instatement of Graves
  1. It will be the responsibility of the relevant funeral director, on behalf of the Parish Council, to arrange the digging of the graves and cremation plots. A reputable and established gravedigger must be used.

 

  1. Re-opening of Graves and Cremation plots
  1. Permission must be received from Tetney Parish Council before a grave is re-opened.
  2. There shall be no disturbance of any previous burial.

 

  1. Reservation of Graves and Cremation plots
  1. The purchase of a grave prior to death is permitted. Plots may be reserved, subject to Tetney Parish Council receiving the correct fee, after which the applicant will receive the completed Exclusive Right of Burial Certificate.
  2. Reserved graves and plots will only be marked on the cemetery plan, held by the Parish Clerk. There will be no physical marker in the cemetery of a reserved plot.

 

  1. Flowers
  1. Funeral flowers may be placed within the grave space but must not encroach further. Funeral flowers must be removed within 6 weeks or when perished whichever is sooner.
  2. After 6 weeks from the funeral, vases, flowers or containerised plants must be at the head of the grave space during the first six months following interment and pending the erection of a permanent memorial or re-instatement. Once a memorial headstone has been installed vases, flowers and containerised plants must be placed on the headstone base and NOT in front of or surrounding the headstone to allow for grass cutting. Glass, china, plastic, jars or bottles are not allowed. Any such item may be removed at the discretion of the Parish Council.
  3. Once a permanent memorial is erected or after the grave is re-instated no flowers, saplings or shrubs may be planted in a grave space, the cremation area or around the memorial plaques as all plots will be grassed and therefore must not be dug out.
  4. Flowers, wreaths and arrangements will be allowed; however the family of the deceased is responsible for removal from the cemetery of said flowers once perished.
  5. Tetney Parish Council retains the right to remove any and all arrangements should the family fail to do so, within an adequate timeframe.
  6. Loose chippings/gravel or edging strips/fencing must not be placed on the gravesite as these create a health and safety issue during maintenance.
  7. No responsibility can be accepted by the Parish Council for the removal of flowers or containers by any unauthorised person.

 

  1. Headstones, crosses and plaques
  1. Temporary memorials in the form of wooden crosses or wooden grave markers will be permitted, subject to the Council’s approval and discretion until a permanent headstone has been installed. A temporary marker should not be in place for more than 12 months.
  2. Memorials will be expected to blend in with our village cemetery. The erecting of headstones or memorials will not be permitted until a minimum of six months, preferably 9 - 12 months, following interment to allow settling of the ground and the installation may only go ahead if the Council agreed the ground has settled satisfactorily.
  3. A memorial headstone in the cremation section shall be no more than two foot (24 inches) high and two foot length (across front) and 18inches depth. Memorials in the Burial section shall be no more than three foot (3’) high with at least a further 12” – 15” inches below ground level, two foot (24 inches) in length and 18 inches in depth. Monoliths and Lawn types are accepted within the designated sizes. A ground anchor must be used for all memorials for safety reasons.
  4. Iron crosses, enclosed floral tributes, wire or plastic fencing, railings or edging stones around or on top of the grave is not permitted.
  5. No headstone or any other memorial shall be placed in the cemetery and no additional inscriptions shall be made on any stone or other memorial without obtaining consent from the Parish Council and upon payment of the appropriate fee. Such consent will only be given if the proposed memorial and inscription complies with the requirements of the regulations and is acceptable to the Parish Council. Any unauthorised memorial will be removed. The Parish Council will not be responsible for the costs incurred; these will be charged back to the family, undertaker or stone mason responsible.
  6. Only 1 memorial/headstone will be permitted per grave space.
  7. A memorial may be in the form of a headstone or a cross and must be placed at the head of the grave. The plot number must be engraved at the foot of the reverse side the memorial. Flat memorials will NOT be permitted.
  8. For a memorial/headstone to be approved and installed the named deceased MUST have been interred prior to installation.
  9. Additional inscriptions relating to those NOT interred within the grave space MUST be approved by the Council using the wording “Also remembering…” or similar.
  10. Lettering on headstones and cremation plaques must be black, dark brown, leaded; white, silver or gold.
  11. Every headstone must be firmly doweled to a foundation suited to the ground conditions that must be wholly below ground level and of sufficient strength to support the headstone without movement. All memorials shall be installed under non-firm ground conditions and only by NAMM/ BRAMM registered monumental masons. Full details of fittings shall be provided to Tetney Parish Council before approval is given.
  12. A memorial shall be constructed of granite, marble, wood and natural stone but not of reconstituted stone, brick, plaster, bath, resin or other soft stone or of any metal.
  13. The Parish Council reserves the right to approve or reject all applications. Full details of memorials, measurements and inscriptions must be submitted at the time of application. Tree plaques are not permitted.
  14. The Parish Council Clerk must be informed and the work approved before any memorial is removed from the cemetery for modification or additional inscription.
  15. The applicant or family is responsible for the care of the memorial, and therefore all contact details must be kept up to date. The Parish Council cannot accept liability for any damage unless it is caused by its employees carrying out maintenance work.
  16. An appointment to confirm time and date is to be made with the Parish Council Clerk before any installation of any memorial takes place.

 

  1. Seats and trees
  1. Seats and benches will not be permitted within the cemetery unless provided by the Parish Council. .
  2. There shall be no cultivation of any description or the placing of upstanding or other plaques, vases or potted plants around trees or on grave spaces.

 

  1. Lamps, Lanterns, Wind Chimes and decorations
  1. The installation of lamps, lights, lanterns, wind chimes, windmills, balloons, musical devices or any decorative toy is not permitted anywhere within the cemetery.

 

  1. Deteriorating memorials
  1. Where a memorial has deteriorated the Parish Council will attempt to contact the applicant or surviving family in order that repairs can be carried out. Should this not be possible or the relatives fail to act in a reasonable time (six months) then the Parish Council may remove any such memorials without further notice.
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  1. Vehicles
  1. Vehicle access to the cemetery is restricted to authorised vehicles only and on the condition that they remain on the roadway. Under no circumstances may any mechanical, electrical or motorised vehicles leave the main path or be driven on any other part of the cemetery.

 

  1. Health and safety
  1. It is the responsibility of all employees, visitors and contractors attending the cemetery to take reasonable care of their own and other people’s safety, and to co-operate with the Parish Council, as Burial Authority on safety matters.
  2. The cemetery may be closed at certain times for maintenance without prior notice.

 

  1. Revision of rules
  1. A revision of the regulations, services and charges will be made when necessary and are at the discretion of the Council. The revisions will be made public via the cemetery notice board and the website.