North East Lincolnshire Council

Adjacent to Grimsby crematorium site is a cemetery of 69 acres, known as, Scartho Road Cemetery for traditional burial and burial of cremated remains. The number if interments which took place during 2015-16 was 113 and interment of cremated remains was 90.

Situated within Scartho Road Cemetery is a woodlands burial area which allows natural burials to take place, burial of cremated remains and the scattering of cremated remains. There is also an area to accommodate the cremated remains of pets.

Please note: private benches are not permitted

Beacon Avenue, Cleethorpes, DN35 8EQ – opened its gates in 1877, is smaller in size covering approximately 31 acres and the number of interments during 2015-16 reflects this with 51 interments and 45 burials of cremated remains taking place.

The chapel may be used by the bereaved as part of the funeral / memorial service.

Please note: private benches are not permitted

All the borough cemeteries are open to the public at the following times.

January
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 4 pm & Sunday 10 am to 4 pm

February to March
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 5 pm & Sunday 10 am to 5 pm

April
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 6 pm & Sunday 10 am to 6 pm

May to August
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 7 pm & Sunday 10 am to 7 pm

September
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 6 pm & Sunday 10 am to 6 pm

October
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 5 pm & Sunday 10 am to 5 pm

November to December
Monday to Saturday 9 am to 4 pm & Sunday 10 am to 4 pm

Bank holidays – normal opening hours, as above except
Good Friday 10 am to 5 pm
Christmas day / Boxing day 10 am to 4 pm

New graves are available at Scartho Road, Woodlands burial and Cleethorpes cemeteries.

We offer different grave plots: traditional which will accept a full memorial, cremated remains, children’s and natural burial full and cremated remains. There is a wide range of memorial types available for placement on a grave plot, Bereavement Services, Funeral Directors or Monumental Masons can advise you of these options.

To ensure the safety of visitors and staff, the council carries out a safety audit of all memorials within the cemeteries on a rolling programme of five years. We are obliged to make safe any memorial found to pose an immediate danger and will attempt to make contact with the owner. Memorials remain the property and responsibility of the registered grave owner and owners are required to check that their memorial is safe. Should owners find their memorials to be unsafe, they should arrange to have repair work carried out by a monumental mason.

In addition, grounds maintenance is also carried out at the following closed churchyards:

• St Michaels Church,  Great Coates Road, Grimsby
• Holy Trinity & St Mary’s Old Clee, Church Lane, Old Clee
• Grimsby Minster (St James), Church Lane, Bethlehem Street, Grimsby

Please note: private benches are not permitted.

Scartho Road and Cleethorpes Cemeteries

All memorials are subject to the submission of an application, payment of fee, copy of insurance cover and obtaining written approval from the Council.

Glass memorabilia of any kind including vases is not permitted within the cemetery grounds.

The Council does not accept responsibility for memorials or any items left on the grave.

The Council reserves the right to remove or lay flat any hazardous or dangerous memorial.

• Memorial sizes – maximum height 39″ x maximum width 30″. Kerbset or garden,

maximum length 72″ (measured from the back of the memorial)

• Cremated Remains memorial size – maximum height 24″ (including base) x maximum width

24″. Kerbset or garden, maximum length 30″ (measured from the back of the memorial).

• Ornamental chippings or stones are not permitted unless enclosed in a kerbset fitted by

a registered monumental mason and for which approval has been granted.

• Informal fences, kerbstones or other means of enclosure will be removed as matter of course if they pose a danger to visitors or restrict access to neighbouring graves or if the grave is not

maintained.

• Informal fences and or gardens should not exceed the dimensions for formal kerbsets for either full or cremated remains graves.
• Trees should not be planted upon grave space due to the long term effects root systems can have on surrounding memorials.
• A memorial cannot be erected or a garden created until levelling has taken place, a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 12 month.

Woodlands Burial, Scartho Road Cemetery

Green burial provides a natural resting place for our loved ones. Gradually over the years the woodland will develop along with its population of birds and small mammals. To maintain the natural surroundings the following rules/regulations must be adhered to:-

• In keeping with the natural burial ethic only string (biodegradable) tied fresh flowers sprays

are allowed on the grave (no wrappings/ribbons/wired etc). These can placed on the grave             at the time of interment and we reserve the right to remove them after 1 week.

• No cultivation or reshaping or adornment of the grave plot is permitted.
• No planting on grave.
• No memorials shall be permitted for example (the list is not exhaustive):
  • Memorabilia
  • Statuary or personal effects
  • Bed stone
  • Edging or other stone
  • Shrines / statues
  • Photographs
  • Artificial flowers
  • Plants pots
  • Fences, masonry or woodwork
  • Vase ornaments

Any other structure

• The walking of dogs, on mown paths is permitted provided they are on a lead and any dog fouling is removed.

(Children’s) Section 501, Scartho Road Cemetery

• Memorial sizes – maximum height 39″ x maximum width 30″ x maximum depth 12″.
• A small garden measuring up to 18″ from the concrete plinth will be permitted. This will be marked out once the ground has settled.
• Ornamental chippings or stones are not
• Informal fences or other means of enclosure will be removed as matter of course if they pose a danger to visitors or restrict access to neighbouring graves or if the grave is not maintained.
• Informal fences and or gardens should not exceed the above dimensions.
• Trees or shrubs are not
• A garden cannot be created until levelling has taken place, a minimum of 6 months to maximum of 12 month.

(Cremated Remains / Ashes) Section 502, Scartho Road Cemetery

• Memorial sizes – maximum height 24″ x maximum width 24″ x maximum depth 12″.
• No other flower vessels are allowed.
• Ground cultivation, kerbsets, gardens or informal fences are not
• Ornamental chippings or stones are not
• Glass memorabilia of any kind including vases is not permitted within the cemetery grounds.
• Trees or shrubs are not

Background

From time to time, due to varying circumstances, it may be necessary to move the remains of an individual from a grave. This process is called exhumation.

Exhumation means the removal from the ground of a body or cremated human remains. It also covers the disturbance of remains within a grave, particularly when a grave is re-opened for burial. It is important to understand that it is unlawful to disturb ANY human remains (this also includes any cremated remains) without first obtaining the necessary legal authority.

There are many applications per year to exhume human remains for varying reasons. Relatives may wish to move a body from a grave to another family grave or vault in the same or a different cemetery or to be cremated. Other personal family reasons might include repatriation overseas. A coroner, by warrant, may also order an exhumation.

Whatever the reason, it is a traumatic occurrence for all those involved and should only be considered after carefully thinking through the whole process and getting as much information as possible from all the relevant authorities before proceeding. You may also need to discuss the issues with other members of your family.

Authorisation

To exhume human remains, you must first apply for either a Bishop’s Faculty or a Secretary of State’s Licence. Normally you will either need one or the other, although there are certain circumstances where you may require both. The application may be made by a funeral director, acting on behalf of the deceased’s family or a family member or other representative.

Within burial grounds, the land is termed either Consecrated or Unconsecrated. The term “Consecrated” means dedicated to the service of God according to the rites of the Church of England. A Bishop of the Church of England carries out consecration of land.

If human remains are to be exhumed from a grave in consecrated ground to be re-interred in consecrated ground in another burial ground, you will only need to apply for a Bishop’s Faculty.

Under certain circumstances where remains are being moved from consecrated ground, to be either re-interred in the same consecrated grave plot or unconsecrated ground, both a Bishop’s Faculty and a Secretary of State’s Licence will be required.

If an exhumation is to be carried out from unconsecrated ground to other unconsecrated/consecrated ground, only a Secretary of State’s Licence is needed.

Obtaining a Bishop’s Faculty

A Bishop’s Faculty can be obtained by petition to the Registrar of the Church of England Diocese for the area where the deceased is interred. The person seeking the Faculty may obtain a petition from either from the Diocesan Registry or the Burial Authority. Once completed, they send it directly to the Diocesan Registry. There may be a charge for the application, which can take four to six weeks to be processed. The Chancellors are very particular that there should be sufficient grounds for an exhumation, and not all applications are approved.

Obtaining a Secretary of State’s Licence

You can apply for a Secretary of State’s Licence from the Ministry of Justice, Coroners and Burials Division, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ. Telephone: 020 3334 6390. Fax: 020 3334 6452. Email: coroners@justice.gsi.gov.uk

The person seeking the exhumation may obtain a form either from the Ministry of Justice directly or from the Burial Authority. The licence, if granted, will normally be sent to the person applying for the exhumation.

A Licence application can often be processed quite quickly. The Burial Authority that administers the cemetery where the deceased is buried must complete Part B of the application form. The Authority will examine its statutory records to ensure details are correct and there are no objections to the exhumation taking place in the cemetery. The form will then be signed by the cemetery manager and will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.  Written authorisation must also be sent from the Cremation Authority if the remains are to be cremated after being exhumed.

Other consents

Generally speaking, the written permission of the owner of the exclusive rights to the grave will be required to authorise an exhumation. In addition, permission of the next of kin of the deceased to be exhumed will also be necessary.

Where it is necessary to disturb other human remains in order to carry out an exhumation, the written permission of the next of kin of each person so disturbed must normally be obtained.

If North East Lincolnshire Council owns the cemetery, approval must also be obtained from the Burial Authority (Bereavement Services).

What happens next?

Once you have obtained all the licences, you will need to forward these onto the Burial Authority where the deceased is interred.

Arrangements can then be made to carry out the exhumation and ensure that if any of the licences have special conditions listed these are fully considered. Contact should also be made with all those involved with the pending exhumation, this may be the funeral director, the burial authorities, a minister of religion for the re-interment and other family members to ensure that family wishes are adhered to.

A copy of the Secretary of State’s Licence will be automatically sent to the area’s Environmental Health Department, so they can ensure the safety of public health. Exhumations are generally carried out early in the morning to ensure maximum privacy and an Environmental Health Officer for the Local Authority will be in attendance along with a Funeral Director and Council Bereavement Services staff. If a Bishop’s Faculty is issued then they will also contact the Environmental Health Department.

There is normally some discussion between all attending parties about how the exhumation will take place and what equipment is required.

As soon as reasonably practical after any disinterment, the officer of the burial authority will complete the statutory records to state:

• the date of disinterment
• the number of the grave
• the name of the person whose remains are disinterred
• where the remains have be re-interred or cremated

Costs

The cost of an exhumation can be substantial, so the financial implications should be clearly established at the outset. It is very difficult to give precise details. Remember to include, for example:

• memorial removal costs
• Bishop’s Faculty fees – there is no fee from the Ministry of Justice for the issue of an exhumation licence
• funeral director’s charges, including the cost of a new coffin or cremated remains casket
• cemetery fees and charges for exhumation and re-interment

All exhumations, applications and requests are dealt with individually and further detailed information can be obtained from the Bereavement Service office. If you have any queries on exhumation within Scartho Road or Cleethorpes cemeteries or you need more detailed independent advice, please contact the bereavement services office.

Purchasing a memorial is a widely recognised way of commemorating someone’s life, providing a focal point for family and friends to visit and an historical record. The council is concerned that the widest possible choice of designs should be available and that your memorial should be fixed to the highest of standards. For this reason, North East Lincolnshire Council developed a Memorial Registration Scheme which requires the Council and other Memorial Masons to work to standards which also include the installation of the memorial; this offers protection to purchasers of memorials and owners of graves, while still allowing freedom of choice.

You may wish to choose a mason based on recommendation from friends or relatives, but we advise that, as with all important purchases, you should obtain written quotes from a least three different companies and ask to see examples of their work. By doing so you are likely to get a competitive quotation and a wider choice of memorials. Also you should ascertain what the mason offers in the way of written guarantees of good workmanship, in addition to those required by North East Lincolnshire Council. Remember only masons approved by the council may carry out masonry work in the borough cemeteries.

Visit the cemeteries and examine their work in situ. Masons sometimes identify their work by inscribing their names on the back of the memorials, so a number of examples may be in evident in the vicinity of your grave. You may also see particular memorial designs that appeal to you. The comments of a stonemason’s existing customers are often a good indicator of the standard of workmanship and service you can expect, and discussing the matter with other visitors to the cemeteries may be helpful.

Insurance and responsibility for memorials

If you have not already done so, you are expected to seek appropriate insurance cover for your memorial, as repairs can be expensive. A number of memorial masons provide this service and some will offer a guarantee of their workmanship. Sadly, on rare occasions there have been incidents of damage to private memorials and this is naturally very distressing for the owners to deal with. We have no responsibility for any damage to memorials and reserve the right to remove any memorial that has become unsightly or unsafe.

Responsibility for the memorial

The memorial remains the property of the owner and does not in time revert to the council, as is commonly believed. It is, therefore, important that owners regularly check memorials for safety. Should it become unstable and damage to other persons or property arises, any claim would be against the owner. The council has no liability for damage by vandals. The council does have the power to remove memorials after expiry of the right of burial in the grave and can take action to remove any risk if it discovers an unsafe memorial.

Apart from these limited circumstances, the council cannot act without the permission of the owner. Although the council is not responsible for maintaining a memorial, or for any damage caused to it, owners are advised of any damage and will be given time to arrange for its repair or removal. In the case of a memorial that has become unsafe or dilapidated, the council has the right to make it safe by laying it down. We may seek authority to remove it, after which time the memorial will be stored for one year to allow the owner sufficient time to deal with the problem. A memorial erected without permission may be removed without notice, although the next of kin will normally be contacted beforehand to be given the opportunity to apply to purchase the Deed of Grant.

North East Lincolnshire Council approved list of memorial masons (PDF)

Cemetery and Crematorium Fees and Charges 2018 – 2019 (PDF)