REGULATIONS for NEW BURIAL GROUND, MILL LANE,

FAIRFORD

The Town Council has prepared these regulations so that the burial ground can be a peaceful and attractive area, which shows respect to all of the loved ones buried there.

MEMORIALS

The Town Council reserves the right to remove or lay flat any memorial, which it considers to be a danger to the public at large without notifying relatives. It is the relative’s duty to ensure that the memorial is in a safe condition. If it is not and it causes injury to any person, any compensation to the injured party is the responsibility of the applicant and not the Town Council. The Town Council cannot be held responsible for any damage caused to a memorial.

Application forms for changes to, or erection of, a new memorial must be obtained from Fairford Town Council, Community Centre, High Street, Fairford, GL7 4AJ. Fairford Town Council must be informed of the proposed date and time of fixing of the Memorial.

The Town Council reserves the right to level graves which remain raised and to infill graves which are lower than the surrounding area. A charge may be made for this service if the grave was not levelled at the time of the erection of a memorial.

FLOWERSFlowers enhance the appearance of the burial ground. A vase or plant container in stone is permitted as long as it does not extend beyond the base of, or more than 600mm in front of the memorial. In the case of a wooden cross, the container must be placed immediately in front of the base of the cross.

Glass containers are not allowed for Health & Safety reasons

Wreaths and cut flowers may be temporarily placed on graves at the time of burial or for other special anniversaries such as at Christmas or Easter but must be removed when they appear withered. Plastic flowers are allowed in pots as above but must be removed when they lose their colour or become damaged by the weather.

The Town Council reserves the right to remove any wreaths, cut or plastic flowers placed in the burial ground if they consider them to be unsightly.

No trees or shrubs are to be planted on graves, though the Town Council will consider requests for memorial trees in suitable locations.

HEALTH & SAFETY

The Council policy may be viewed at the Council offices. Topple testing takes place on a regular basis to check the stability of all monuments. However the Council cannot take responsibility for any accident which occurs to a member of the public while they are in the Churchyard or burial ground. Members of the public are requested to inform the Council if they know of any safety hazard in the above area so that they can take appropriate action.

TYPE of MEMORIAL

There is no requirement to erect a memorial on a grave, but if one is, it must have the necessary permission. The memorial itself remains the property of the applicant but the ground remains the property of the Town Council.

Please note that a period of at least 6 months must elapse after a burial before a NEW memorial is erected. At this time the surface of the grave must be levelled flat with the surrounding area and covered by turf. This time limit does not apply to cremations or changes to existing monuments.

All memorials must be placed on the ‘head’ of the grave.

BURIALSThese may be either a single upright grave stone on a base The upright stone should not exceed 900mm in height, 600mm in width and 100mm in depth.The base should not exceed 100mm in height, 800mm in width and 600mm in depth. or a sloping ‘open-book’ memorial in stone base dimensions as above or a wooden cross. Size not exceeding 900mm in height, 600mm in width and 100mm in depth

A stone vase or plant container may be placed in front of the cross but must not protrude more than 600mm in front of the cross.

Kerbstones are NOT allowed and no freestanding objects are permitted on the grave space except in relation to temporary placement of wreaths

CREMATIONS These should be plaques and tablets not exceeding the following dimensions:200mm in height, 600mm in width and 600mm in depth including any facility for a vase or plant container.

Small headstones may be erected at the discretion of the Council as long as they do not exceed the overall dimensions above and the headstone does not exceed 600mm in height. The base should not exceed 100mm in height, 600mm in width and 600mm in depth. The sub-base/foundations must also not exceed 600mm x 600mm in size.

ADDITIONS TO EXISTING MEMORIALSThese may be erected as long as they do not exceed the existing dimensions aboveA plaque which lies flush with the ground may be placed on the gravespace.

Its dimensions not to exceed 300mm x 300mm

MATERIALS

These may consist of any natural stone for monuments or hardwood for crosses.

WORDING AND DECORATION Wording must include the name/s of persons buried there and if possible the date of birth and death for information for future historians. All wording and decoration must be approved by the Town Council at the time of application for the erection of the memorial.

These revised Regulations were approved by Fairford Town Council on 12th May 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: When one purchases a plot for burial, they only purchase ‘THE RIGHT OF BURIAL’. The entire plot remains in the ownership and responsibility of Fairford Town Council. A memorial stone may be installed at the head of the grave and this remains the property and responsibility of the purchaser. Flower vases etc can be placed up to 600mm from the face of the memorial stone but the remainder of the grave needs to be left to facilitate mowing.