Cemetery Rules (for Funeral Directors)
Paddock Wood Town Council > Cemetery Rules (for Funeral Directors)

Cemetery Rules (for Funeral Directors)

Paddock Wood Cemeteries, Garden of Remembrance and Memorial Wall

 

These Rules and Conditions apply to Paddock Wood Cemetery and St Andrews Closed Cemetery

Any enquiries or correspondence relating to these grounds and their management and maintenance  should be directed to the Town Council as the Burial Authority for Paddock Wood via the Cemetery Clerk, Paddock Wood Town Council, Podmore Building, St Andrew’s Recreational Field, St Andrew’s Road, Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6HT, or by telephone 01892 837373 or email deputyclerk@paddockwoodtc.co.uk

 

These rules and conditions were agreed by Paddock Wood Town Council on 22nd January 2024 and supersede all previous rules and conditions.

 

These rules are to be followed in conjunction with the Cemetery Rules & Regulations. It is the responsibility of the Funeral Director to make sure that applicants have had sight of the Cemetery rules and regulations. By signing the applicant statement on the forms, applicants are agreeing that they have read and understood these rules and undertake to abide by them. All Funeral Directors must also be abiding by the Cemetery Rules and Regulations.

 

Administrative Procedure for Funeral Directors and Masons

  1. Funeral directors should check with the Town Council office regarding available dates and times of funerals before completing the forms. Times and dates will then be booked provisionally subject to confirmation from the funeral director when submitting the paperwork.
  2. The office will not accept application forms for burials or ashes interments that are not fully completed and accompanied by payment of the appropriate fee or details of BACS transfers of same. The certificate of disposal (green form) or cremation certificate must be provided, prior to any burial taking place. Without this, a burial will not take place.
  3. All paperwork must be received at least 3 working days before the date of a funeral.
  4. In the case of reopening of plots or the use of a reserved plot, the form must be accompanied by a copy of the ERB/Grant of Right so that the Council can ensure that the applicant is entitled to use the plot. If the applicant is not the holder of the grant of right they will be required to apply to the office to have the ownership transferred before the plot can be used. If a copy of the Grant of right cannot be provided the procedure in the appendix must be followed.
  5. Transfer of reserved plots for the use of a deceased person who is not a Paddock Wood resident shall not be permitted except in exceptional circumstances and always at the discretion of the Cemetery Clerk.
  6. Funeral Directors shall communicate with families and florists supplying tributes at the time of burial to ensure that the General Rule 16 is fully observed.
  7. Memorial applications whether for plaques or headstones must be made to the cemetery clerk on the appropriate form. Once a memorial is approved it may not be erected or affixed until any fee due has been received by the office.
  8. Funeral directors are encouraged to charge any fees for erecting memorials at the time of the funeral along with the other fees due.
  9. Funeral directors shall ensure that gravediggers and monumental masons employed by them shall comply with the Guidance Notes for Gravediggers and Monumental Masons as issued by the Council.
  10. Masons employed by families to carry out maintenance work upon memorials shall submit in advance an application form along with proof of their Public Liability Insurance, a method statement for the proposed work including details of any chemicals to be used and a Risk Assessment.

 

Advisory notes

  1. GDPR STATEMENT: Paddock Wood Town Council will retain contact information provided by funeral directors and applicants on forms completed at the time of burial or reservation. It will be stored securely in the cemetery records to enable the Council to establish rights to the plot in the future and for the efficient management of the cemetery. By signing such forms the applicants agree to retention of their data.
  2. Applicants should take careful notice of the Rules and Regulations of the Cemetery grounds produced by the Town Council at the time of completing application forms for interments or reservations. They will be required to abide by these and should also note that the Town Council may change these rules from time to time and that they will be required to abide by any such alternations.
  3. The ground is primarily clay and is susceptible to water logging and visitors should therefore take care not to slip and use the pathways in wet condition

 

 

Appendix

 

Procedure for allowing use of plot or the erection of a memorial in the absence of copy of ERB/Grant of Right

If a copy of the ERB/Grant of Right is not provided to the Council and the cemetery clerk will ask for further information regarding the applicant in order to establish the rights to the plot. If upon examination of the Councils records and such information it is not possible to establish the applicant’s right then the Council has the discretion to refuse use of the plot or approval for a memorial. Alternatively the Council shall have the discretion to ask the applicant to sign a disclaimer before a commissioner for oaths on the appropriate form. A fee will be charged for administration of this. An administrative fee will be charged for issuing a replacement deed for ERB/Grant of Right

Paddock Wood Town Council