The law on burial and cremation in England and Wales, some of which dates back to the mid-19th century, is complicated and outdated. It has evolved as a patchwork of different laws which apply to different burial grounds depending on who operates them (eg the Church of England, local authorities or private owners). There are also gaps in the law. Burial space is running out, with the situation worst in some urban areas. Grave reuse has long been seen as a solution to this problem, but not all burial grounds are permitted to reuse graves.
On 3 October, the Law Commission published a consultation paper on its provisional proposals for reforming burial and cremation law in England and Wales. Possibly its most important proposal is on the reuse of graves. Its proposals would enable any burial ground to reuse graves, but only after public consultation and with Government approval. There would also be safeguards for each individual grave.
The major themes of the consultation are:
- the regulation of burial grounds;
- grave reuse and reclamation;
- closed and disused burial grounds and exhumation;
- the rights granted to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; and
- cremation law.
Other issues covered include:
- closed churchyards, for which the Commission proposes reforms to allow them to be reopened;
- uncollected ashes left with funeral directors after cremation – and which they have no legal right to bury or scatter;
- the siting of crematoria which, currently, must be constructed at least 200 yards away from any homes and 50 yards from a public highway; and
- burials on private land.
There is a summary of the proposals here. The consultation closes on 9 January.
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We recognise the pressure on graveyard space and would not want to be unreasonable in seeking to solve the issue. But the following points do concern us.
1) That those like ourselves who have conscientious objection to cremation should not be compelled in the future to be cremated rather than buried.
2) Should older graves be opened that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that relatives of the deceased remains should be consulted and give their consent.
3) That Nonconformist graveyards should not be compelled to admit deceased from those of a different persuasion if they feel that to do so would have implications that could conflict their rights of freedom of worship and religion.
Might I suggest that you make those points to the Law Commission?
Might I suggest that consideration be given to vertical graves being offered as an alternative to the current horizontal mode. The space saving using this option being quite significant.
You may well suggest that, but how could it be done in practice?
I can’t see any obvious way of digging a narrow vertical grave, unless there is special machinery available to do it, nor (having just attended a burial this morning) can I see how one could easily lower a coffin into a vertical grave feet first while maintaining a reasonable degree of decorum.
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