Burial Reservation Policy - have your say

Overview

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) operates 13 cemeteries where residents of North Northamptonshire can choose to be buried:

Corby: Shire Lodge NN17 2AE,  Rockingham Road NN17 1AD

Kettering: Rothwell Road NN16 8XE, Broughton NN14 1ND, Burton Latimer NN15 5LU, Cransley NN14 1PX, Desborough NN14 2QB, Rothwell NN14 1RX, Pytchley NN14 1ET, Kettering NN15 7PF

Wellingborough: Doddington Road NN8 2 JH, Finedon NN9 5NS Wollaston, NN29 7PP

The space in the cemeteries is being used up as the population of North Northamptonshire continues to grow, which is increasing the demand for cemetery places. The cemeteries in Rushden and East Northants are not affected as the burial grounds are managed by the Town and Parish Councils.

Following local government reorganisation there are currently different policies for the reserving of graves, depending on postcode. Now these cemeteries are managed by a single local authority the council is proposing to harmonise these policies and fees.

Across the cemeteries, there is a high number of reserved graves which effects the ability to offer and manage graves to everyone who wants to be buried in them. One of the ways of managing the life of a cemetery for the longest possible time, is to have a Burial Reservation Policy. It is on this draft policy that we are asking for residents to share their comments and provide feedback.

Burial Reservation policy

The 13 working cemeteries, now managed by NNC, have been established over the last 60 years and are gradually being filled. At the moment, there are approximately 1,500 reserved graves and around 2,500 available grave spaces. Leaving approximately 1,000 graves available. The proportion varies across each cemetery, but for example, there are 486 reserved graves in one of our cemeteries yet less than 20 plots available for purchase by the rest of the local community. The intention of a reservation policy with a fee, is to manage the number of plots reserved by North Northamptonshire residents and increase availability to the wider community. A high number of reservations means alternative solutions have to be provided e.g. new cemeteries or extensions. Reserving large numbers of plots takes areas and in some cases rows, out of use and these graves may never be used, as circumstances and decisions of people can change.

Currently only cemeteries that were managed by the former Kettering Borough Council have a Burial Reservation Policy. Evidence shows that having this policy in place has helped with the management of the plots as the proportion of available plots in Kettering is much higher than neighbouring areas so the cemetery is much better able to meet the requests of families. The life of the Rothwell Road cemetery has been extended by another 10-15 years, for use by everyone who wishes to be buried there. It is more equitable for all as the fee discourages the purchase of multiple plots by individuals.

Under the draft Burial Reservation Policy, North Northamptonshire residents who wish to be buried within a North Northamptonshire Cemetery can pay a reservation fee and reserve one grave plot at a time. A grave can continue to be reserved at the time of burial for a partner or family member to be buried next to each other. The reservation fee excludes the exclusive right of burial and internment fees which are paid separately.

The fee set for 2024/25 is proposed at £2,513, for 99 years. A full list of fees can be found at Fees and charges | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk. The fee together with the Exclusive Right of burial breaks down to an annual cost of £34/year or £2.85/ month, which contributes to the maintenance costs of that plot. Plots reserved prior to the implementation of the policy remain unaffected by the fee.

North Northamptonshire is seeking views on extending the Burial Reservation Policy, currently only in place in Kettering, to all of our 13 cemeteries.

As our local population grows NNC, like many other local authorities, are having to carefully manage and plan burial spaces. Many other local authorities have also introduced reservation policies and fees to help them do this. A number are listed below for comparison (pro-rated to 99 years):

Having a single burial reservation fee to all of our 13 cemeteries fee will allow NNC to manage cemetery space for the benefit of all North Northamptonshire residents whose preference is for burial. It will pay towards the upkeep of the plot and contribute to planning for the future, towards the purchase of land for either extensions and/or new cemeteries.

If a fee is not implemented, then reservations will continue to rise, reducing the life of the cemetery impacting on the future, as burials will be reduced or in another cemetery and increasing costs for the Council in having to purchase land and set out the cemetery and put in roadways, drainage and water. Currently, some residents using eight of the cemeteries have to pay a fee which doesn’t apply to five cemeteries. Extending the policy means all residents, regardless of postcode are treated equally.

All feedback will be reviewed for consideration by Executive. If the proposed draft Burial Reservation Policy is approved by Executive it will become effective on the 1^st calendar day of the month following agreement by Council Executive. The fee will then be payable from that date, e.g., Executive approve in October 2024, the policy and fee will come into effect on 1 November 2024.

Any extension of the policy will not affect graves already reserved in the eight cemeteries (Rothwell Road NN16 8XE, Broughton NN14 1ND, Burton Latimer NN15 5LU, Cransley NN14 1PX, Desborough NN14 2QB, Rothwell NN14 1RX, Pytchley NN14 1ET, Kettering NN15 7PF) where it already applies. There will be no fee to pay on graves reserved up to the start date of the policy. However, any requests for reservations will continue to be agreed on a cemetery basis, depending on the number of plots requested and the number of available plots.

Have your say

As residents of North Northamptonshire and users of services, we welcome your feedback regarding our proposed draft Burial Reservation Policy and associated fee.

Please tell us your views by completing this questionnaire. Your feedback will be part of a report with many other people’s feedback, so you will not be personally identified.

Alternatively, you can email or send your comments in by post using the contact details below.

Email address:  yourvoicematters@northnorthants.gov.uk

Postal address: FAO Sam Diamond, Rothwell Road Cemetery, Warren Hill, Kettering NN16 8XE 

If you would like a copy of this survey in any other format, please contact the Bereavement Services Team on 01536 525722.

You can also access this online questionnaire free of charge at any North Northamptonshire Council library. Please see the Library website or telephone 0300 126 3000 to check opening times.

This survey closes at midnight, 4 September 2024.

For information about how consultation and engagement responses are managed, please see the consultation and engagement privacy notice.