RULES AND REGULATIONS

Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board

Drax Cemetery

Rules and Regulations, March 2023

Introduction

These Regulations have been made by Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board in relation to the Cemetery located off Hales Lane, Drax.

All enquiries regarding the Cemetery or Interment Services should, in the first place, be addressed to:

Cemetery Recorder and Clerk to the Burials Board

Mr D Perry, Providence Cottage, Drax, Selby, YO88NW, 01757 618182

e-mail draxcemetery@gmail.com

Website http://draxcemetery.com

Company Secretary

Mr S Greenwood, Newland Hall, Newland, Selby, YO88PS

Interpretation and Glossary of Terms

The Board shall mean the Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board

The Authority shall mean Drax and Newland Parish Councils

The Recorder shall mean the Cemetery Recorder and Clerk to the Burials Board

The Secretary shall mean the Secretary to the Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board

Grave shall mean a burial place formed in the ground by excavation and without internal wall of brickwork, stonework or any other permanent artificial lining.

Exclusive Right of Burial shall mean the exclusive right of burial in a specific grave, as agreed by the Clerk to the Board, and shall be issued to the owner in the Deed of Grant.

Deed of Grant shall mean the receipt issued to the purchaser of the Exclusive Right of Burial

Records

Records for the Cemetery shall be kept by the Recorder.

Fees and Charges

The fees and charges due and payable to the Board in respect of rights of burial, interments, memorials, inscriptions, maintenance and other matters in connection with the Cemetery shall be agreed and published annually by the Board. Indicative fees are shown in Appendix 2.

Current Copies of Fees and Charges shall be available from the Recorder.

Interment fees must be paid to the Recorder when giving notice of interment

Fees for headstones or other markers must be paid to the Recorder before materials are brought into the Cemetery.

All payments shall be made out to The Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board (DNJBB)

Selection and Ownership of Graves

Every interment shall take place in a private grave or public grave plot selected and agreed by the Recorder. Plots will be allocated on the basis of next available space in the area currently in use for burials.
Particular plots may be reserved in advance, subject to payment of the required fee, but only in the area currently in use for burials.
On the purchase of an Exclusive Right of Burial, the owner shall be registered in the records held by the Recorder, the plan updated, and a Deed of Grant issued to the purchaser.
Owning an Exclusive Right of Burial does not confer ownership of the land.
A Deed of Grant does entitle the owner to:
1. Be buried in that plot
2. Authorise additional interments in that plot if space is available
3. Authorise the interment of ashes in that plot if space is available
4. Have cremated remains scattered over that plot
5. Place a memorial on that plot subject to the Rules and by separate agreement with the Board
6. Have inscriptions added, or amend inscriptions to that memorial subject to the Rules and by separate agreement with the Board
7. Exclusive right of burial for up to two interments for a period of 99 years from the date of interment

Ownership of a Deed of Grant may be transferred subject to the following;
1. The purchaser has notified the Recorder of the transfer, in writing
2. The Recorder has registered the transfer
3. After decease of the purchaser by submission of either a Letter of Administration or by virtue of duly nominated and identified executors (who may determine ownership).

Note – possession of a Deed of Grant does not give the automatic right to erect a memorial. This is subject to a separate 30-year agreement, detailed later.

Certification

No burial will be permitted unless correct and adequate documentation has been inspected by the Recorder, including papers obtained from the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or the Coroner.
The Recorder must be informed of any bodies that have died from, or have been subject to, infectious diseases. A list of infectious diseases is available from the British Medical Association.
No purchased grave shall be opened unless a Deed of Grant and the written consent of the owner, or legal representative, are presented.
If the Deed of Grant is lost, the owner, or legal representative, must complete an indemnity form, stating their legal right to have the grave opened.
Where the consent of the owner cannot be obtained, the grave will be opened upon application of any individual considered entitled by the Board so to do. Where no executor or solicitor is appointed and where the deceased died intestate, the onus is on the applicant to satisfy the Board of their entitlement to have the grave opened.

Coffins

A body will be accepted for interment if it is enclosed within a suitable wooden coffin.
Cardboard, wicker, shrouds and homemade coffins will be accepted subject to details being submitted to the Recorder and approved, at least five days prior to interment.
Where unconventional design or material is requested for approval, the Board reserve the right to have the coffin inspected by the Recorder, or other nominated officer, prior to grant of approval.
All coffins entering the Cemetery must have a durable nameplate or other form of identification containing, as a minimum, the name of the deceased, and date of death.
It is the responsibility of the Funeral Director, or other person conducting the funeral, to ensure that sufficient persons, or means of transport, are available to transfer the coffin from the hearse to the graveside, and to assist in lowering the coffin appropriately and safely.

Note - The Board does not have persons or equipment available for this purpose.

Grave digging

It is the responsibility of the Funeral Director to ensure that:

The grave is dug within the correct plot, as per the plan
The grave is dug to the correct alignment and depth
Sufficient safety precautions are taken to ensure the safety of gravedigger, mourners and others during excavation, whilst ever the grave is empty, and subsequent to burial and backfilling.
Any water standing in the base of the grave is emptied prior to interment
There is no disturbance to other graves, memorials, landscaping or other features in the area
The grave and surrounding area is left tidy and in acceptable condition after burial.
No coffin is placed with its upper surface less than three feet below natural ground level
All graves shall be finished with a mound of earth sufficient to compensate for estimated natural settlement following burial
All surplus soil material is placed as designated by the Board.

Note 1 - The Board does not have persons or equipment available for grave digging.

Note 2 – Any contractors or sub-contractors, grave diggers or undertakers working within the cemetery grounds must have public liability insurance, and are responsible for providing their own risk assessments and for working within health and safety guidelines, and must provide evidence of any or all of the above if requested by an officer of the Board.

Note 3 – All graves, whether for ashes or full body interments, shall be hand dug as the ground status excludes the use of excavating machines for safety and stability reasons.

Ground Settlement

The Board takes responsibility to level the ground following natural settlement subsequent to burial.

Contact and Interment Times

The Recorder may be contacted by letter, e-mail or by telephone between the hours of 09.00 and 16.00, Monday to Friday. A voicemail service is available when the Recorder is absent.
Interments will not normally be permitted on Bank Holidays, Saturdays or Sundays
The Cemetery will be available for interments between the hours of 10.00 and 15.30, Monday to Friday, from the 1st April to the 30th September.
The Cemetery will be available for interments between the hours of 10.00 and 14.30, Monday to Friday, from the 1st October to the 31st March.

Temporary Markers

The Board will mark the foot of each purchased plot with a durable marker indicating the plot number. This marker remains the property of the Board and may not be removed.
Following interment, a simple wooden cross or stake, as agreed by the Board, may be erected for a period not exceeding two years, whilst natural settlement occurs, prior to the installation of a permanent monument. After two years the Board may remove the temporary marker without further notice or right of appeal.

Memorials

Only memorials approved by the Board will be permitted within the Cemetery grounds.
Any memorial of a type not approved by the Board will be removed without further notice.
All memorials remain the property and responsibility of the person commissioning the installation.
All memorials must be kept in good repair and safely positioned by the person commissioning the installation.
All memorials will be inspected by a representative of the Board on a regular basis to check for stability. In the event of any memorial being found to be unstable, the Board will, in the first instance, contact the memorial owner to carry out the remedy. Should the inspection give rise to immediate cause for concern, the Board will make it safe before attempting to contact the owner. The owner remains responsible for any reasonable costs incurred by the Board.
If the Board determines that a memorial is in poor repair, a notice to repair shall be served upon the owner who will be expected to have the repair carried out within eight weeks of the notice date, using a registered monumental mason. If the works are not carried out within the agreed timescale, the Board reserves the right to terminate the “Right to Erect a Memorial” and, if deemed necessary, remove the memorial.
For details of permitted memorials see Appendix 1, Permitted Memorial Sizes, Types and Materials
Upon payment of the appropriate memorial fee, the purchaser will be issued with a “Right to Erect a Memorial” as a receipt.
The Right to Erect a Memorial is subject to a 30-year agreement, which will be subject to extension for a further period upon termination. If no extension is requested or granted, the Board may remove the memorial.

Maintenance

The Board shall be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Cemetery, including the mowing of grass on or about the graves, general husbandry of flowers and shrubs, hedges and trees, whether planted as part of general landscaping or as memorials in the memorial garden. The Board reserves the right to remove dead or dangerous shrubs or trees, whether part of general landscaping or as memorials in the memorial garden, following appropriate notice being served upon the owner

General Information Relating to Graves

All graves shall be finished at ground level and seeded with an appropriate grass seed mix by the Board.
Raised mounds or turfed banks shall not be permitted within the Cemetery.
No area of the grave shall be enclosed or covered by kerbstones, plinth stones, palisades, rails, chains or in any other manner.
The laying of stone chippings, or similar, shall not be permitted on any grave space within the Cemetery.
No tree or shrub shall be planted on any grave, except in that area designated by the Board.
Only integral flower holders, or other such as may be approved by the Board, shall be permitted on any grave.
No body shall be buried, nor ashes interred in any grave without the express written consent of the owner of the Deed of Grant.
No cremation remains shall be scattered in or over any grave nor anywhere in the Cemetery grounds unless such place has been designated for such purpose and approved by the Recorder. No body, or part thereof, may be removed from any grave, or from the Cemetery, without licence of the appropriate Secretary of State (or faculty from the Church of England Bishop of the Diocese)
No remains, other than human, shall be buried in that section of the Cemetery designated for human burial.
No remains, other than animal, shall be buried in that section of the Cemetery designated for pet burial.
The positioning on new graves of toys, games, sporting effects, etc may only be carried out with the prior approval of the Recorder. Such items may only remain in position for a maximum of thirty days following interment. Such items may not be placed on graves to recognise anniversaries or other such significant dates.
Any item placed upon a new grave which the Board consider to be unsuitable or in poor taste, or likely to offend others, or which has exceeded its thirty-day approved placement will be removed by the Board and the owner informed.
The Board reserves the right to remove any unauthorised item following a period of notice served on the owner.
The Board reserves the right, without notice, to remove and dispose of any floral tributes which have clearly withered or died, or have become unsightly.
Removed items will be held by the Board for a period of thirty days to enable the owner to collect them. After this period the items will be disposed of.

Woodland Graves

Woodland or Green graves are only available in one specified area of the Cemetery, subject to availability.
Woodland graves provide a living memorial in an area attractive to wildlife.
Each grave will be planted with a sapling or shrub by the Board after the soil has settled and at the appropriate time of year.
Tree species will be selected by the Board in order to give a small mixed woodland environment and will be native and suitable for the area.
After tree planting, native bulbs will be planted in the grave area.
The Board will carry out subsequent maintenance and thinning.
Each grave will accept only one interment.
Although standard coffins will be accepted, it is preferred that readily bio-degradable coffins or shrouds are used.
No memorials, tributes or flower containers are allowed on these graves, in order to preserve the characteristics of this area.

Baby and Infant Graves

Hospitals often offer burial or cremation services for stillborn babies or babies which die shortly after birth. Where this option is not available, or where the family do not wish to partake of this service, a private funeral may be carried out.
The Board will provide four options for the family to consider:
1. The baby may be buried in the area specifically designated for this purpose
2. The baby may be buried in a child–size plot adjacent to other family members
3. The baby may be buried in an adult plot, already occupied by other family members, if space permits
4. The baby may be buried in a new adult plot, for subsequent occupation by other family members

Babies are usually buried in white coffins, but the Board will look favourably upon requests to bury babies in shrouds, “Moses” baskets or other soft container.
Parents may assist in the placement of the child in the grave, and place photographs or other personal items in the grave.

Unpurchased Graves

Unpurchased graves are provided for persons who cannot, or do not wish to, purchase an Exclusive Right of Burial.

Unpurchased graves will be located in the same area as those for which the Exclusive Right of Burial has been procured.

Unpurchased graves will be dug to accommodate up to three interments.

The Board will provide a small plaque at the head of all unpurchased graves stating the name and date of death of the deceased.

The Board will mark each unpurchased grave with a durable numbered marker at the foot of the grave.

Memorials, tributes or vases may not be erected on an unpurchased grave.

The family of the deceased shall have five years in which to purchase the Exclusive Burial Right. After this period, the Board may inter an unrelated body in that grave.

Memorial Garden

The Board shall provide an area of garden in which the bereaved may purchase a shrub or rose bush to be planted by the Board.

The Board shall place a small durable plaque containing the name and date of death of the deceased, adjacent to the shrub.

No other memorial, tribute or vase may be installed in the memorial garden.

By permission of the Recorder, cremation ashes may be scattered on the surface of the garden between shrubs or bushes. No ashes will be interred in the memorial garden.

Inclusion

The Board intends that the Cemetery shall be for the use of all in the local community, and beyond, irrespective of background, ethnicity, faith or belief.

The Board does not intend to have the whole or any particular area of the Cemetery consecrated in accordance with any particular faith.

The Board will not object to individual grave plots being consecrated in accordance with the owner’s faith or belief, as arranged by the deceased or their representative, prior to, or subsequent to, interment.

In order to recognise the requirements of differing faiths, all reasonable attempts will be made to accommodate specific needs. Special requirements must be discussed with the Recorder when first requesting a plot at the time of notice of interment. For example, all graves for Muslim burials may be aligned to face Mecca, rather than the traditional British East/West alignment, if required.

Treatment, washing and dressing of bodies must be carried out prior to arrival at the Cemetery.

All applications for permission to consecrate must be received by the Recorder for approval prior to the date of interment.

General Regulations

The Cemetery is deemed to be a quiet place to enable visitors and mourners to reflect and remember their loved ones. All visitors are therefore requested to respect this place.

Specifically no person shall:

Wilfully create disturbance in the Cemetery
Commit any nuisance within the Cemetery
Wilfully interfere with any lawful burial taking place
Wilfully interfere with any grave, memorial, flower, plant, tree or other such feature of the Cemetery
Play any game or sport within the Cemetery
Enter or remain within the Cemetery during such hours as it is closed to the public, except as authorised by the Board
Ride or operate any cycle or powered vehicle within the Cemetery, except as authorised by the Board for essential works
Bring into the cemetery any dog, or other pet, other than a recognised assistance dog, or pet associated with the deceased. Exercising of pets within the cemetery is strictly forbidden. Note - Permitted dogs must be kept on a lead at all times whilst within the cemetery curtilage.

Failure to comply is subject to summary fine under the Law

Children under the age of fourteen must be accompanied by an adult
No person is allowed to distribute or display advertising matter, business cards or any information that might be deemed as offensive or inappropriate, within the Cemetery
No member or officer of the Board or Burials Authority is permitted to receive gratuities in any form
Visitors are required to remove all waste materials and dead or wilted plant material from the Cemetery
No visitor may obstruct any member or officer of the Board in the proper execution of their duty in compliance with these rules
Photographs or video may be taken within the Cemetery for personal use only, subject to respecting the privacy of other visitors to the Cemetery.
Photographs and video taken within the Cemetery may not be published except with the express written permission of the Recorder.
No broadcasting, filming or interviewing by press, radio or television media may take place within the Cemetery without the express prior permission of the Recorder.
Dogs brought into the Cemetery must be kept under close control, on a lead, at all times. Owners are responsible for the complete removal of dog foulings.
The carrying or consumption of alcohol in the Cemetery is not permitted
The Board will not accept any responsibility for the damage or theft of flowers, urns, memorials, tributes etc.

All burials and interments shall take place in accordance with English law pertaining at that time
The Register of Burials shall be available for inspection, by appointment with the Recorder, free of charge
A fee as deemed proper by the Board may be charged for providing a search of records or for the making of a certified copy of an entry in the Register of Burials or Record of Disinterments

Presiding Ministers

It is the responsibility of the bereaved or their representative to make all necessary arrangements for the services and graveside attendance of an appropriate Minister or Leader of Religion, should they require one.

Plan of the Cemetery

A plan of the Cemetery showing the position of interment areas and plots, both occupied and available, shall be maintained by the Recorder and shall be available for inspection by appointment

Complaints Procedure

Any visitor having complaint about any aspect of the Cemetery management should complain in writing to the Recorder. Such complaint will be considered by the Board at its next scheduled meeting and a written response given. Should the Board fail to satisfy the complainant, an appeal may be made to the Burials authority, being Drax or Newland Parish Councils. Such appeal would be considered at the next scheduled meeting of that Parish Council and a written response given.

Reserved Rights

The Board reserves its rights, after due consideration, to alter these Rules and Regulations, or any part of them, from time to time, as they deem fit and to make any supplementary rules or regulations.

Relevant Legislation

Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977, as amended by the Local Authorities (amendment) order 1986 et seq.

Burial Act 1857 et seq.

General Data Protection Regulations 2018

It is the policy of Drax and Newland Joint Burials Board not to hold or keep data or information other than the names, addresses and e-mail addresses of persons who have communicated with the Board. It is the policy of the board not to use or divulge such data or information to any third parties.

By law the Board must maintain a Burials Register which is a public document open to inspection by members of the public

Validity

These Rules and Regulations repeal cancel and supersede all previous Rules and Regulations made by the Board

Approved at the meeting of the DNJBB, 30th March 2023

RULES & REGULATIONS: Text