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Cemeteries News
Cemetery approved in 23 acres of Enfield Green Belt with 38,000 plots will alleviate Boroughs grave burial shortage
A new cemetery is set to be created on Green Belt land in Enfield to deal with a borough-wide shortage of burial space. The 23-hectare site at Sloemans Farm, in Whitewebbs Road, would provide space for 38,000 single graves and be designed to accommodate all faiths and none. It...
Good Grief Trust to support recently bereaved with monthly pop-up Cafés at GreenAcres Cemetery and Ceremonial Parks
Ceremonial Park and Cemetery owner GreenAcres is extending its partnership with the Good Grief Trust to Merseyside after successfully launching pop-up cafés in association with the group at its four funeral parks in the south east. The Good Grief Café at GreenAcres Rainford will open on Thursday, October 28...
Draininge plan for Ashby Road Cemetery, Hinckley as flooding and waterlogged graves cause distress to bereaved
Heavy rain is again causing flooding in parts of a cemetery in Hinckley – to the distress of families whose loved ones are buried there. Water has been seen pooling on top of graves in the extension of Ashby Road cemetery, near the Big Pit. The cemetery is managed...
Objections to Redditch plan to convert green leisure space to Cemetery
Planning officers at Redditch Borough Council are set to consider the controversial application to turn Ipsley Meadow into a cemetery. The committee will consider the application for the site off Ipsley Church Lane at its meeting at Redditch Town Hall on Wednesday October 13 starting at 7pm. The plan...
Belfast’s Roselawn Cemetery set to compensate family for ‘disastrous’ burial after coffin is too wide for grave
A ‘disastrous’ funeral which took place at Belfast’s Roselawn Cemetery in April 2021 is to result in compensation being paid to relatives by Cemetery owner Belfast City Council. Maud McDonagh, 73, was buried at Belfast’s Roselawn Cemetery on April 9 this year but despite accurate measurements supplied by Funeral...
Funeral Directors' News
Southern Co-op goes even greener by introducing UK’s first electric Tesla-based hearse charged by renewables
Southern Co-op is promised greener funerals after adding the UK’s first fully electric Tesla based hearse to its fleet. The society, which operates nearly 60 funeral branches in Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire, has taken delivery of the newly developed Wisper vehicle,...
Billboard Funeral Director Louise Cook wins husband as well as customers for AW Lymn
A funeral director is set to get married after her admirer spotted her giant face on a billboard advert. Louise Cook, a funeral director at A.W. Lymn in Long Eaton, will marry Mick Bramman, who stole her heart after sending her a photo of himself next to her face...
NI Hearse builder Quinn develops ‘coffin pod’ as protection for mourners and funeral home staff
A Northern Ireland hearse building firm has launched a ‘coffin pod’ to help protect grieving families and funeral directors as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Family-owned Quinn Hearse & Limousines in Portglenone, County Antrim have specialised in the design and manufacture of hearses and limousines for over a quarter of...
Funeralcare slammed for no longer caring about ashes scattered in Memorial Garden following Cumbrian funeral home closure
A Cumbrian man has criticised Co-op Funeralcare over the upkeep of a memorial garden after the group closed down their funeral home and offices. Derek Batey of Brampton, Cumbria said the Co-op Funeralcare Memorial Gardens in Craw Hall, Brampton were a “disgrace” following Funeralcare’s decision to shut down their...
Co-op refurbishes Service Rooms at Grade II Keighley Funeral Home with an eye on Direct Cremation
Co-op Funeralcare has refurbished their Grade II Keighley funeral home, The Knowle, with service rooms and installation of latest visual and audio equipment. The company says the scheme will enable the funeral home in Victoria Road to “better serve communities in and around Keighley”. Features now include a service...
Funeral Business News
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Outrage over Derby City Council’s refusal to reveal discipline measures for Cemetery TikTok jokers
Punishments for Derby cemetery workers who made a series of offensive TikTok videos are to be kept secret Derby City Council says, in a decision which has caused outrage among some elected representatives. The city council has refused to state whether or not the three workers have been dismissed...
Bereaved slam conditions at privately-run Tottenham Park Cemetery, Enfield: Tyremarks where graves have been driven over, human remains strewn amongst weeds and broken marble, burial records not being kept
Locals in the Enfield have been campaigning for the local council to take control of the privately-run Tottenham Park cemetery for several years Formed in 2017, the Tottenham Park Cemetery Action Group (TPCAG), has long complained that their loved ones who are buried in the cemetery have not been...
Batley Cemetery commences £250,000 Muslim burial site extension as Capacity Crisis Tightens
Work has commenced on an extension to Batley Cemetery thanks to a capital investment of £250,000 by Kirklees Council. Planning approval were secured in Autumn 2020, but due to the pandemic, work commenced on Monday September 20 and will take several months. It is common practice, where possible, to...
Dignity half year results show continuing trend to simpler funerals is costly for funeral businesses
Dignity PLC (DTY.L) said its underlying operating profit for the first half was down 10 percent from prior year mainly driven by the decline in volume. The Group said its business remains cash generative despite increased capital expenditure and corporation tax. For the 26 week period ended 25 June...
Planning application and funeral home refurb indicate how predicted growth in Direct Cremations will reshape the funeral industry
A planning application for a crematorium in Bradford by a company connected to Hull Funeral Director Heavenly Services, and the refurbishment of a Funeralcare facility in Keighley are unconnected by anything but geographical proximity, but they mark a significant change as they show how the funeral industry is beginning...
Talking Points
“The Singing Undertaker”: When Covid struck with a ban on Congregational Singing at Funerals in Wales, Co-Op Funeral Director James Murray from Mumbles stepped up to the microphone…
When lockdown hit and there were restrictions on numbers at funerals and a ban on congregational singing in places of worship, James Murray, who is based in Mumbles, stepped in to help families better remember their lost loved ones. Losing a loved one is one of the darkest days...
Sheffield General Cemetery gets £3.7m facelift and even has its own Airbnb
Sheffield’s ‘garden cemetery’ is about to undergo the next stage in restorations which will total £3.7m. Some 1,000 people already used the cemetery-park each day, it has five entrances including the gatehouse and is open 24 hours. Next month sees the start of work on catacombs, repairing paths and...
Unusual Graves: Bedouin-tent-shaped mausoleum provides resting place for Sir Richard Burton, great Victorian explorer
This unusual mausoleum in the shape of a bedouin tent is located in the grounds of a church near Mortlake railway station and contains the earthly remains of the eminent Victorian explorer, Sir Richard Burton. Burton who died in 1890 aged 69 was famed for his explorations and said...
Is the US process of Body Composting a Viable Green Alternative to Burial or Cremation?
In a suburban Denver warehouse tucked between an auto repair shop and a computer recycling business, Seth Viddal is dealing with life and death. He and one of his employees have built a “vessel” they hope will usher in a more environmentally friendly era of mortuary science that includes...
County Durham man knocks down ancient cemetery wall to facilitate his house extension
A County Durham homeowner has been accused of desecrating a cemetery by knocking down part of its ancient boundary wall to facilitate his house extension. Charles Ryan, 71, of Quebec, Co Durham removed an 11ft stretch of stone wall separating his garden from the cemetery. But he did it...
Industry News
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Crematoriums News
Westerleigh New Forest Crematorium building gets 92% local support despite initial 500 objections to application
A new multi-million-pound crematorium is being built in the New Forest national park – despite initially sparking more than 500 objections. With a promise “to serve the people of New Milton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and surrounding areas”, the New Forest Crematorium is being developed by Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest...
Westerleigh begins journey to new FCBA environmental compliance across all 35 UK sites
Westerleigh’s Sirhowy Valley Crematorium, which opened earlier this year, was the first crematorium in the UK to complete the new environmental compliance section of the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities inspection. But the Westerleigh Group now say that this policy will be adopted across all of their 35...
Westerleigh wins approval for new East Lothian Crematorium despite concerns raised by councillors and other local operators
Crematoria operators Westerleigh Group’s plans for a new facility at Old Craighall, outside Musselburgh, were approved at a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee despite objections from local crematorium operators and concerns raised by councillors that it will be “in the wrong place”. Several councillors expressed their concern...
£1.9m overspend on new Heaton Crematorium leads to Bradford Council review of ‘bereavement strategy’
Post-Covid construction inflation has led to the costs of building the new Bradford Council Crematorium at Heaton rising by almost £2m. Bradford Council’s decision making Executive discussed the Crematorium on Tuesday, when members were told that the rising costs might require the Council to re-evaluate its future bereavement strategy....
Plans for new Crematorium in Reigate bite the dust over greenbelt issues
Campaigners who fought controversial plans for a new crematorium are celebrating after the scheme was thrown out by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council’s planning committee. However, the council’s commercial ventures arm, which made the application to build and run the facility, has not ruled out an appeal or the...
Natural Burial Ground News
New Monument Meadow Natural Burial Ground opens at Farndon near Chester
Monument Meadow Natural Burial Ground near Chester has opened on a five acre site with a wildflower meadow and an oak framed pavilion to provide shelter and views across rolling countryside and the Clwydian Range. Landowner Barnston Estate created Monument Meadow in Farndon to replace the burial ground at...
20 acre Wirral Natural Burial site approved, with application warning that “burial space is running out”
Plans for a new ‘natural burial’ site for the Wirral have been approved, amid warnings over a shortage of room for traditional burials. Wirral Council’s decision means that Steve Ledsham, who owns Church Farm in Thurstaston, Wirral, will be allowed to build a 20-acre burial ground on land at...
Natural Burial Ground for Sheppey means residents can be buried on Island
A new eco-friendly Natural Burial Ground has opened on Sheppey meaning residents and others can be buried on the Island once again. Sheppey Natural Burial Ground is situated in the open countryside, at Harty, on Sheppey, where graves are designed to minimise the impact on the environment. Surrounded by...
Natural Burial Ground Plan is first for Wirral and will offer views over countryside and North Wales Heritage Coast
A new ‘natural burial’ site will be the first of its kind in Wirral according to the developers. Steve Ledsham, who owns Church Farm in Thurstaston, wants to build a 20-acre burial ground on land at the farm, which will be unlike any other burial site in the borough...