Hounslow Council Suggests Cemetery Fees May Rise
Planning ahead for sufficient burial spaces as population grows
Hounslow Council has come up with a future strategy for its nine cemeteries and four churchyards which have been under pressure for burial spaces at a time when the population of the borough has increased.
The Council says the changing of demographics is creating a growing demand for burial space that reflects different faiths.
Recently the Council took over control of the services following the demise of Carillion, and along with its in house company Greenspace 360 carried out a consultation and a review of the service.
The objective is to find sufficient burial capacity to meet the borough's diverse needs - there are currently 30,000 memorials and headstones across the nine cemeteries in the borough.
The service also has to be modernized and sites maintained. It was also agreed that cemeteries were valuable as green infrastructure and contribute to the borough's heritage and biodiversity value.
While S106 and CIL monies will be allocated, it is also possible fees will increase.
The council says, "A review of Cemetery fees and charges – including benchmarking and the introduction of new services – may provide an increase in income, they will need to be robustly appraised and formally approved before any budgets are adjusted."
A consultation was also held with the public and meetings with community groups and funeral directors have taken place.
The approval for a new strategy was given by delegated Cabinet decision. You can read more here.
October 4, 2019