Cemetery Regulations

BROOKLAND PARISH COUNCIL AND BURIAL AUTHORITY 
    
1.    The Cemetery is administered by the Clerk to the Brookland Parish Council and Burial Board under the general direction of the Cemetery Committee. All matters concerning burials, graves or memorials should be addressed to the Clerk at the address below. All payments should be made to the account of Brookland Parish Council and delivered to the Clerk. A table of fees is available from the Clerk. 

2. A register of burial and deposits of cremated remains is kept and may be inspected free of charge, by appointment. Copies of entries may be obtained for a fee, by prior arrangement with the Clerk. 

3. The cemetery is permanently open to the public. No person in the cemetery shall do anything that does, or is likely to, interfere with the proper conduct of any interment or ceremony. 

4. No animals may be brought into or allowed to come into the cemetery, except for working guide dogs. 

5. No person may plant any tree within the cemetery and no shrub, which in normal growth exceeds three feet, may be planted on any grave space. 

RIGHTS TO A GRAVE OR MEMORIAL SPACE 

6. The purchaser of an exclusive right of burial in any grave space shall have the right to deposit as many inhumations within that space as are specified in the grant of the right. The purchaser may deposit cremated remains provided that for each such deposit the appropriate notice is given, due payment made, and that no previously deposited remains are disturbed. 

7. If any activity is requested in respect of a grave or memorial space in which an exclusive right has been granted the Clerk will require evidence that the person making the application has the proper authority. 
 
8.   No memorial may be placed on any grave space unless an exclusive right of burial has been granted to the person making the application. 
 
9. The owner of any memorial must keep it in repair so that it is safe and in a neat and tidy condition. If any owner fails to fulfil the obligations imposed by this regulation, the committee will take any reasonable steps to make good any deficiency including, if necessary, the removal of any memorial, railings or other object. The cost of any such action will be passed on to the owner together with an administration fee.

 
APPROVALS REQUIRED 

10.  No gravestone, monument, memorial and surround may be placed on a grave before the period of 12 months from the date of the burial has elapsed. However, a natural or discreet surround and/or memorial may be placed on a grave within 12 months of the burial with the agreement of the Parish Council, but must be removed at the end of the 12-month period.
 
11.  All gravestones, monuments, memorials, surrounds and inscriptions are subject to the approval of the Committee. A copy of any proposed inscription and a drawing showing the material, shape and dimensions of any memorial must be deposited with the Clerk at least 30 days before work on the memorial is commenced or the inscription is to be cut or the memorial placed. 
 
12. Where an inscription or memorial is to be placed in any part of the cemetery, consecrated according to the rights of the Church, the person intending to place the inscription or memorial must also ensure that it meets with the approval of diocesan regulations. The Clerk to the Council will have delegated authority for the most popular designs and will advise on special requirements 
 
13.  Up to 4 benches may be donated to the Parish Council to be placed in the main area of the cemetery at any one time. Two of which are to be reserved for residents of Brookland to donate. Please contact the Clerk to find out if there is a spare position for a bench if you would like to donate one in memory of your loved one.

WORK IN THE CEMETERY 

15. No depositing of a body* or of cremated remains** may commence before ten o'clock in the morning or after 4 o'clock in the afternoon nor at any time on a Sunday.  *Depositing of a body means burial in a grave or placement in a vault or walled grave or in a mausoleum or catacomb. **Depositing of cremated remains (ashes) means by scattering - distribution on the surface of the ground; by strewing - distribution beneath a layer of turf by burial - placing in a hole in the ground or a vault or a walled grave below ground; by placement - placing in a columbarium niche, mausoleum or catacomb above ground. 

16. No-one other than a person acting with accredited authority - such as a funeral director or memorial masonry firm - shall dig or carry out memorial masonry work, nor any other work in the cemetery including the opening of any   vault, walled grave, catacomb or columbarium niche. Any accredited person working in the cemetery must take all reasonable steps to make sure that no injury or damage is caused by any person or property, and to leave the area in a  safe, neat and tidy condition. 

17. Notice of any intended work within the cemetery must be given to the Clerk at least 7 days in· advance, to enable the necessary permission to be given. 

18.  Any fees due shall be paid at the time the notice is delivered to the Clerk. 

REGULATIONS  19. This cemetery is one to which the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977 applies and accordingly the provisions of Schedule 2 to that Order.
 
20. Where any provision is made by the Regulations, whether in respect of any time limit or in some other way, it may be varied in a particular case by the Committee (provided the Committee is satisfied that the variation will not be detrimental to the interests of any other person). Application for a variation should be made to the Clerk accompanied by reasons in support of the request. The Committee shall not be obliged to grant any variation.