Old graves could be reused, ‘full’ graveyards reopened under new proposal
Old graves could be reused under new recommendations put forward to manage the shortage of burial space.
Under the proposed changes put forward by the Law Commission, graveyards declared “full” during the Victorian era could also be reopened.
The commission warned urban areas across Wales and England are fast running out of burial space.
Proposed changes would allow any burial ground to reuse graves, but only following public consultation and government approval.
Consultation
Safeguards would also be in place for each individual grave, with plots only eligible for reuse when the last person was buried at least 75 years ago.
Another separate public consultation is considering the timeframes around grave reuse, and what would happen if family members objected.
Professor Nick Hopkins, Commissioner for Property, Family and Trust Law said any change would need to be tackled in consultation with the public.
“Our proposals provide a significant opportunity to reform burial and cremation law and secure burial space for future generations,” he said.
“This must be done sensitively and with wider public support.”
Interest
Current legislation makes it illegal to redevelop a graveyard for any reason other than to grow a place of worship.
Other publicly-run cemeteries can be redeveloped if the owner is granted an Act of Parliament.
Alex Davies-Jones, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, said the Government was supportive of the Law Commission’s work.
“We await with interest the Law Commission’s recommendations, in due course, on the most appropriate framework to provide modern, consistent regulation for burial and cremation,” she said.
Public consultation on the proposed changes is open until January 2025.
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I believe this has been happening in France for years. We had a young French boy staying with us; as we walked through a local cemetery (easiest route to town!) He commented on the state of the graves. He explained that where he lived everyone turned out to tend their family graves for All Saints Day, 1st November, if a grave remained untended it would be reused. The children would often find small bones lying around the cemetery!
This should have been done a long time ago. Look in any cemetery, most of the graves are neglected. People’s names live on in stories and memories – not in plots of earth
I still visit the graves of past generations. I will still see graves that a few hundred years old tended to. This is through tracing family history, this will be a difficult thing to accomplish. I don’t agree with it but if it is done then absolute fine detail digital recording of every single grave, location and headstones must be done.
Be nice when articles like this are presented, the links to the public consultations are made available.
Discontinue burials, only cremation and small pot sized plots for ashes if requested. Mine will be dispersed in the wilderness and bin the box.
This is the failure of local authorities and the planning system for the inevitable.
They could find some suitable land today, or flog some greenfield to Taylor Wimpey.
Are we really going to start removing commonwealth war graves and cenotaphs because they’ve reached some arbitrary age?