Partney Cemetery

 Partney and Dalby Parish Council

Cemetery Policy and Regulations

Adopted: 14.11.2023

Last review 14.05.24

Review: 11.25

1. General Information

1. Partney and Dalby Parish Council (hereafter called the Council) is the burial authority for Partney parish. These rules set out in simple terms the Council’s policy with regards to the operation and maintenance of the Cemetery.

2. The Cemetery is an open space available for all to visit. It is a place for remembrance, peace and quiet reflection and the Council endeavours to ensure that it maintains the Cemetery for that purpose.

3. Burial in Partney Cemetery is only permitted, at residents rates, to persons who live, or have previously lived, within the present parish boundary of Partney. If you have not lived within the parish boundary within the last 5 years, fees will be charged at non-resident rate.

4. Partney Cemetery is a lawn type cemetery to allow ease of maintenance and will be mown regularly by the Parish Council.

2. Exclusive Rights of Burial

1. Any person 18 years and older may purchase ‘Exclusive Rights of Burial’. Legally these are purchased for a period not exceeding 100 years. Purchasing the 'Exclusive Rights of Burial' means that the grave may not be reopened and no one may be buried there or install a memorial without the owner's permission.

2. The Council will issue this right for fifty years only. At the end of this time, it may be extended at twenty-year intervals, for which further fees are payable, up to the maximum 100-year limit. After the rights have lapsed the grave rights ownership reverts to the Council and may be reused or resold if not used.

3. The fee for purchasing the Exclusive Right of Burial must be paid to the Council at the time the arrangements are made. Purchasing these rights does not give any land ownership rights and the land remains in the ownership of the Council. These rights also do not include any permission to install or alter a memorial. Separate permits and licenses must be obtained for which a fee is payable.

4. The selection of plots for graves shall be determined at the discretion of the Clerk.

5. If the owner of the Exclusive Rights dies, it is assumed that they give permission to have themselves interred in the grave. After this time, the Rights become part of their estate and may be left in a will to someone else. If the Rights are not specifically mentioned in the will, they will form part of the 'residue' of the will, usually willed as 'and all my other worldly goods' at the end of the will. Whoever inherits the Rights will need to contact our office and arrange a transfer of ownership before the grave can be opened again or any memorial placed.

6. Transfer of ownership to someone else will incur fees. Ownership is the families’ responsibility; The Council will not open a grave for burial or allow a memorial to be installed unless ownership has been established.

7. The Council will only grant Exclusive Rights to an individual.

8. Exclusive Rights of Burial for a grave can be purchased at any time, not only just prior to a funeral.

1. Rights may be surrendered to the Council at any time in writing.

10. The owner of the Exclusive Rights is responsible for informing the Council of any change of address.

11. If the Council is unable to contact the owner it has the right to take whatever action is necessary. If this involves a cost to the Council, this may be levied as a charge against the grave and must be paid before any more interments can take place.

3. Exercise of Rights

1. No burial shall take place, no cremated human remains shall be interred and no tombstone or other memorial shall be placed in the cemetery, and no additional inscription shall be made on a tombstone or other memorial, without the permission of the officer appointed for that purpose by the burial authority.

2. Notice of interment must be received by the clerk at least five working days before the date of interment, together with the required fee.

3. No body shall be buried in such a manner that any part of the coffin is less than three feet below the level of any ground adjoining the grave:

4. No body shall be buried in a grave unless the coffin is effectively separated from any coffin interred in a grave on a previous occasion by means of a layer of earth not less than six inches thick.

5. When any grave is reopened for the purpose of making another burial therein, no person shall disturb any human remain interred therein or remove therefrom any soil which is offensive.

6. Any person who has an exclusive right of burial shall be granted the right to install a tombstone or other memorial. A fee is required by the Council. The memorial to be erected as soon as convenient after the subsidence of the earth has been completed (12 months at the earliest).

7. The Council does not undertake digging, filling and levelling of graves and the fees do not include this.

4. Application for Memorials

1. All applications to erect memorials must be submitted to the Parish Clerk.

2. No fixed memorials may be erected on any space for which the exclusive rights of burial have not been granted.

3. All memorials must be installed by a BRAMM registered stonemason. The stonemason has a duty of care to erect memorials safely.

4. Due to ground settlement memorials must not be erected for 12 months following a burial.

5. The dimensions of any headstone on a grave shall not exceed 91cm in height above ground level and 69cm in width and 20cm in thickness.

6. The dimensions of any cremation tablet or plaque shall not exceed 1ft 6” (45.8cm) square.

7. Only one headstone/plaque per grave.

8. Kerbstones, fencing or any other forms of enclosure or border are not permitted nor is trenching, gravelling, mounding or other forms of boundary marking. This includes flowers or anything placed along the boundary of the grave.

1. No memorial or any other article higher than ground level other than a headstone or moveable vase may be erected. Vases (metal or stone) should be placed at the head of the grave. No glass should be placed on the grave.

10. Potted or planted trees or shrubs are not permitted on or near the grave. 

11. No disturbance of the grassed surface or removal of turf from the grave space is permitted.

• Natural flowers only; all wreaths and flowers, when past their best will be removed.

5. Maintenance and Access

1. The owner of a memorial is responsible for any maintenance or repairs.

2. The Council shall be indemnified by persons carrying out any work in the cemetery against any claims arising from all works. The Council accepts no liability for claims arising from work carried out by third parties.

3. The Council reserves the right to tidy up neglected or untended graves.

4. On at least an annual basis, the Council will conduct safety checks on memorial headstones. If any are found to be unsafe, the family of the deceased will be contacted to promptly arrange the securing of the headstones in the interest of public safety. In cases where a family cannot be contacted, or there is a delay in action, and the memorial is considered to be unsafe and a danger, the Council will stake and band the memorial temporarily and then make safe using best practice. Any historic kerbstones deemed to be unsafe will be buried.

5. No vehicles except those required for maintenance are allowed in the cemetery.

6. People with mobility issues are requested to contact the Parish Clerk for access arrangements

7. Dogs must be on leads at all times. Owners must ensure that any dog fouling is removed.

6. Table of Fees

These charges are effective from 10.01.2024 and were approved by Partney and Dalby Council at a meeting held on 09.01.2024

n.b. Fees do not include grave diggers charges

All fees are payable to Partney and Dalby Parish Council who reserve the right to make alterations from time to time.