For all enquiries and further information telephone the Cemeteries Office 020 3045 4100 or email cemeteries@bexley.gov.uk

1. Introduction

1.1 The London Borough of Bexley’s main cemeteries office is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (normal public holidays excepted).

1.2 Personal callers are welcome, but can only be accommodated by prior appointment.

1.3 All application forms in connection with interments may be obtained from the Council’s main Cemeteries Office or downloaded from the Council’s website.

1.4 The Council welcomes all visitors to its cemeteries and they are asked to respect the peace, dignity and reverence of the facilities.

1.5 The cemeteries are managed and operated in accordance with the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, as amended by the Local Authorities' (Amendment) Order 1986 and such other regulations as may be made by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice.

1.6 The Council shall not be responsible for carrying out any instructions received by telephone unless verified by the receipt of the correct documentation relating to the instruction within any specified time and delivered to the Council's main cemetery office.

1.7 Cemeteries provided by the Council are located at:

• Bexleyheath, Banks Lane, Bexleyheath DA6 7BH
• Erith, Brook Street, Erith DA8 1DY
• Hillview, Wickham Street, Welling DA16 3NL
• Sidcup, Footscray Lane, Sidcup DA14 4NS

Council means the London Borough of Bexley.

Grave means a burial place formed in the ground by excavation without any internal wall.

Full memorial plot means a grave plot where the entire area of the grave may be used for memorialisation and or planting flowers.

Small kerb set plot (Section R in Sidcup only). Owners of graves in section R of Sidcup cemetery must install a (914mm) 3ft x (914mm) 3ft kerb set between 12 and 18 months after interment.

Lawn plot means a grave plot where only an area of (762mm) 2ft 6” x (457mm) 1ft 6” at the head of the grave may be used for memorialisation and or planting of flowers.

Parishioner/resident means any person residing in the London Borough of Bexley or in property owned or provided by the Council outside the London Borough of Bexley.

Public or common grave means a grave in which no exclusive right of burial has been or will be granted by the Council and in which unrelated persons might be interred.

Burial chamber means a pre-cast chamber positioned either above or below ground for full coffin interment. Sarcophagi means pre-cast burial chamber positioned either above or below ground for full coffin interment.

2. Management of cemeteries

2.1 No person other than a person authorised by the Council shall enter or remain in the cemetery at any hour when it is closed to the public.

2.2 All persons entering the cemeteries will be subject to the orders and control of London Borough of Bexley or any person authorised by the Council.

3. Conduct within cemeteries

3.1 All persons shall conduct themselves in a decent, quiet, and orderly manner and are reminded of the provisions of the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977 article 18 (1) whereby no person shall:

• wilfully create any disturbance in a cemetery
• commit any nuisance in a cemetery
• wilfully interfere with any burial taking place in a cemetery
• wilfully interfere with any grave or vault, any tombstone or any other memorial or any plants on any such grave
• play any game or sport in a cemetery

3.2 Any person who contravenes Article 18 (1) of the Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

3.3 Any person found vandalising any part of the cemetery or desecrating any grave; will be liable for prosecution by the Council under the provisions of the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977.

3.4 Visitors to the cemeteries shall not unreasonably interrupt the Council's employees at their duties or employ them to execute private works within the cemetery or extend to them any gratuity.

3.5 All enquiries, complaints and requests by members of the public must be made to the Council’s main cemetery office or Cemetery Superintendent (if on-site). Complaints must not be made to the general cemetery staff.

3.6 Subject to the provisions of the Byelaws with respect to the cemeteries, dogs shall not be permitted in any cemetery. This rule shall not apply to Disability Assistance Dogs.

3.7 Children under 12 years of age are not permitted in the cemetery except under the care and supervision of a responsible adult.

3.8 No person shall sell or offer or expose for sale any article, commodity or thing of any kind whatsoever or solicit for orders from the same within a cemetery.

3.9 Any person using a motor vehicle in a cemetery in connection with a funeral shall only do so on a carriageway suited to the purpose and shall abide by the speed limit of five miles per hour.

3.10 Permits allowing vehicles to be driven into the cemeteries for any purpose other than attending a funeral must be obtained from the Council’s main cemeteries office and clearly displayed in the vehicle.

3.11 No person shall ride a bicycle, skateboard or other similar machines in the cemeteries.

3.12 No person shall drop, throw or otherwise deposit and leave in the cemeteries any wastepaper or refuse of any kind except in the litter bins provided. The litter bins are strictly for waste generated within the cemeteries.

3.13 No person shall consume alcohol within the cemeteries without prior written consent from the Council.

3.14 No person shall operate any sound reproducing equipment or play any musical instrument in the cemeteries without the prior written consent of the Council.

3.15 No commercial photographs may be taken in the cemeteries without the prior written consent of the Council.

3.16 No burial shall take place, and no monument or memorial shall be placed in the cemetery, nor shall any additional inscription be made on a memorial without the prior written consent of the Council.

3.17 Cremated remains shall not be scattered in the cemeteries.

3.18 Funerals should arrive on time, as failure to do so may cause the interference of one funeral with another.

3.19 Regard shall be had to any Byelaws applicable to the cemetery concerned.

4. Internments

4.1 All requests for interment shall be made in the first instance by telephone to the Council’s main cemetery office and subsequently confirmed in writing. The minimum periods required for notice of interments are:

• interment for one or two in an earthen grave - four working days
• interment for three or four in an earthen grave - five working days
• interment of cremated remains in grave or garden of remembrance - four working days

4.2 All written applications must be submitted on the prescribed form of notice of interment to the Council at least three working days prior to the appointed time of the interment, signed by the holder of the exclusive right of burial (if applicable) and accompanied by the appropriate fee for interment.

4.3 The Council shall not be responsible for:

• any discrepancies, errors or omissions in any notice of interment or other document which is required to be given or served on the Council or for liability arising from such discrepancies, errors or omissions
• the late receipt of any notice of interment or other documents required to be given or served on the Council or for liability arising from such late receipt

4.4 Any form of religious service may be used, but any other ceremony is subject to the approval of the Council. Alternatively, the coffin may be committed without a service.

4.5 A certificate for disposal issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or a Coroners Order for Burial or a duplicate thereof must be delivered to the Council or authorised officer when the funeral cortege arrives at the cemetery.

4.6 By law, no interment will take place unless the certificate for disposal is produced.

4.7 In the case of a non-viable foetus, the Medical Practitioner or Midwife's certificate of delivery will be required.

4.8 Persons employed by the Council will prepare all graves, mourners are only permitted to partially backfill a grave, and this is approximately one full wheelbarrow of earth.

4.9 No interment will be permitted unless the body of the deceased person is contained in a coffin or shroud considered suitable for the interment in a grave and named accordingly.

4.10 Metal caskets and coffins are strictly prohibited.

4.11 Shroud burials must have a nameplate or similar attached in order for paperwork to be checked on arrival at the cemetery. The shroud must be lowered into the grave on either ropes or webs.

4.12 No person other than a Council employee/operative may enter an open grave.

4.13 Every coffin must bear a nameplate with details of the deceased person therein and may only contain one body except in the case of a mother and her baby or babies.

4.14 No body or cremated remains (ashes) may be removed from a grave without the production of the ecclesiastical faculty and or Ministry of Justice licence for exhumation required by law. Original documents will be required for this purpose.

Interment of cremated remains (Ashes)

4.15 The cremation certificate will be required by the Council prior to the interment of cremated remains (ashes).

4.16 Cremated remains (ashes) may be interred in caskets or other approved biodegradable containers in conventional purchased graves, graves for cremated remains (ashes) only and gardens of remembrance.

In the old rose garden of remembrance areas at Erith and Sidcup (opened prior to 2009), cremated remains (ashes) may have to be interred loose.

There is no facility for the scattering of cremated remains (ashes).

Interment of cremated remains (Ashes) in the Sanctum Vaults at Hillview

4.17 Interment of cremated remains (ashes) in the sanctum vaults at Hillview cemetery is permitted on payment of the fees prescribed.

4.18 No other memorial is acceptable other than the standard sanctum vault memorial tablet and vase supplied.

Hillview Sundial and Bexleyheath Lodge Garden of Remembrance

4.19 Only flowers are permitted in the official vases supplied. No other items may be left in these areas.

Interment of cremated remains in the Memorial Garden at Bexleyheath Cemetery

4.20 Cremated remains (ashes) grave plots 2' (609mm) x 2' (609mm) are available to accommodate a maximum of four sets of ashes. The lease period will be 30 years, 50 years, or 75 years.

4.21 No purchase in reserve will be available, and graves will be allocated and numbered sequentially.

Hours of interment

4.22 The standard days of interment are Monday to Friday (weekends and public holidays excepted). Saturday interments are subject to availability of staff and payment of an additional fee, which is prescribed within the scale of charges.

5. Fees and charges

5.1 Fees for all cemetery services will be determined by the Council annually to take effect from 1 April each year. All fees are payable prior to the interment taking place.

6. Chapels

6.1 Chapels at Bexleyheath and Erith are not operational and will not be available for services.

7. Non-parishioners/non-residents

7.1 Non-parishioner/non-resident fees will be charged as specified in the Council’s scale of fees and charges

8. Parishioners and residents

8.1 Parishioners/residents shall include a person who, at the time of purchasing a grave, was a resident within the London Borough of Bexley.

8.2 Parishioner status may be granted to persons who have lived in the borough for the majority of their adult life from the age of 18 years. If the deceased lived out of the borough for two years or less at the time of death, parishioner/resident status is applied. If longer than two years, initially, non-parishioner / non-resident fees will be applied. However, a written appeal may be submitted to the Council to alter this status. The appeal decision is at the sole discretion of the Council. Appeal forms can be obtained from the Council's main cemetery office.

8.3 Where the exclusive right of burial of a grave space is owned by a parishioner/resident, only the spouse, civil partner or sons and daughters of such owners, if residing outside the borough, may be interred in the grave at the same rate of charge as a parishioner/resident. The fees shall be those described in the Council’s scale of charges.

8.4 Where a parishioner/resident purchases an exclusive right of burial after 1 January 2010, the resident fee for the exclusive right of burial will only be applied if the grave is to be used for their spouse, civil partner, son or daughter. The exclusive right of burial can be purchased for other relatives but will be charged at non-resident fees.

8.5 The personal representative of a deceased resident may purchase the exclusive right of burial for the interment of such resident. The fees for which those are charged to parishioners/residents for a new grave for one person.

9. Exclusive Right of Burial

9.1 The exclusive right of burial in a grave may be purchased at the time of the interment on payment of the appropriate fee and completion of the relevant application form, including the signature(s) of the proposed owner(s).

9.2 All exclusive rights of burial shall be granted for a period of 30, 50 or 75 years for graves purchased from 1 January 2010.

9.3 Exclusive rights will not be sold to undertakers, their agents or other persons for resale. The Council will mark every grave space according to the official plan.

9.4 The exclusive right of burial entitles the deed holder to determine who is buried in the grave and whether a memorial can be erected on the grave. The grave owner is entitled to carefully remove from the grave for safe storage and collection within the cemetery any items placed without the owner’s consent.

9.5 All such private graves will be excavated to the standard depth determined by the Council. The Council will not be held responsible if, due to factors outside its control, the full number of interments cannot be achieved.

9.6 New full graves will be allocated in strict rotation. They are not available for selection.

9.7 Purchase in reserve graves are offered at Hillview Cemetery only and are not available for selection. The 30, 50, or 75-year lease for purchase in reserve will commence from the date of purchase.

10. Transfer of the exclusive right of burial

10.1 The Grantee or his legal personal representative may transfer the exclusive right of burial, subject to the proper notice of such transfer being given to the Council on the appropriate form. The Council will then register the transfer and endorse a note thereof on the grant.

In order for parishioner/resident status to be applied, the applicant must be resident in the London Borough of Bexley at the time of transfer application. Proof of residence will be required.

10.2 Following the death of the grantee, the exclusive right of burial in any grave space must be transferred and re-registered before the grave can be further reopened or any stone or monument erected thereon.

10.3 In respect of an owner’s burial, the funeral applicant or executor may make arrangements and sign the memorial permit form to allow the deceased owner’s name to be added to the memorial without transferring the exclusive right of burial.

10.4 If minor cleaning/renovation (including safety fixing) of a memorial is required and the owner of the exclusive right of burial is deceased, providing none of the original wording or material is altered, permission will be given to next of kin without the need to transfer the exclusive right of burial.

10.5 At the time of imminent interment, it is not possible to transfer the exclusive right of burial in order to alter residency status.

11. Memorials

11.1 Purchasers of the exclusive right of burial shall employ their own workmen, who are members of London Borough of Bexley's Memorial Registration Scheme, to erect any memorial or to remove and replace the same at the re-opening of a grave. Such workmen shall comply with such conditions as may be specified by the Council, and in case of any contravention of such conditions, the Officer of the Council is empowered to order any workmen to leave the cemetery and to prevent his re-entry thereto.

11.2 No masons, letter cutters or other workmen engaged in fixing, delivering, painting or repairing memorials will be admitted to the cemeteries on Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and public holidays, or on any other day before 9am and must leave the cemetery no later than the official closing time, except in exceptional circumstances agreed in advance with the Council’s main cemetery office at its absolute discretion.

11.3 Any authorised workmen removing a memorial from a grave for further interment or as a health and safety measure to accommodate interment in an adjacent grave shall, in agreement with the Council, place it in a position indicated by the Council.

11.4 Any memorial removed from a grave to facilitate an interment shall be replaced and fixed to National Association of Monumental Masons specification as soon as practicable, but in any case, no less than three months after the interment of cremated remains, six months for a headstone only or lawn memorial and 12 months for a full kerbed memorial.

11.5 The Council will not accept responsibility for any accidents to memorials etc., occasioned by storm, wind, lightning, subsidence or other cause, or by third parties, but reserves the right to remove any damaged article subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977.

11.6 Any persons found soliciting orders within the cemeteries for the erection or repair of memorials will be required to leave the cemeteries and will not be admitted again without the permission of the Council.

12. Memorial applications

12.1 A memorial may only be erected on a grave space within the cemetery subject to obtaining the Council's permission and upon payment of the appropriate fee. The right to erect a memorial rests with the exclusive right deed holder or executor, or where there is no will, the next of kin and will be for the unexpired portion of the grant of exclusive right.

12.2 The memorial may include a photograph of the deceased. Permission to include a photograph must be sought at the time of requesting a memorial permit. Photographs should not exceed 76mm (3”) x 101mm (4”).

12.3 The erection of a memorial (small vase or tablet only) on an unpurchased/public/common grave will be subject to the discretion of the Council and in accordance with these regulations and upon payment of the appropriate fee.

12.4 Application to place a new memorial, alter or add any inscription or replace, add to or remove a memorial from the cemetery must be submitted to the Council on the appropriate Memorial Application Form. All such work must be undertaken in accordance with the current Code of Practice issued by the National Association of Monumental Masons.

12.5 All Memorial Masons who undertake work in Bexley cemeteries must be registered with the Council’s memorial registration scheme before work commences.

12.6 The approval of the Council for any such application will be confirmed by the issue of a Memorial Permit, which will be valid for 12 months. This may be extended at the discretion of the Council. No works can be undertaken unless a permit has been issued. The permit is issued on the understanding that the work undertaken will comply with the details specified within the application form and the requirements of these regulations.

12.7 Prior to commencing work, stonemasons must hand over the official memorial permit to the person at the cemetery appointed for that purpose. Memorial masons must sign in on arrival and record the grave number of the plot on which they will be working.

12.8 Anyone erecting a monument or kerb set or who undertakes any memorial work within a cemetery not in compliance with these regulations will be required to remove the said memorial or kerb set and pay all costs involved. Failure to do this will result in the Council instructing a contractor to remove said memorial, the cost of which will be recharged to the grave deed owner.

12.9 All memorials shall be kept in repair by the owners, and in the event of any memorial falling into disrepair and the necessary repairs not being carried out within six months after notice from the Council, the memorial may be removed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977.

13. Memorial specification

13.1 Vases in the Sundial Area at Hillview and the Lodge Garden of Remembrance at Bexleyheath are purchased through the Council's main cemetery office. The Council’s nominated contractor will carry out all fixings.

14. The Council reserves the right to:

14.1 Remove or make safe any memorial that has become or is likely to become dangerous or which is in a derelict or unsightly condition.

14.2 Exclude or remove from the cemetery any memorial not executed in a workmanlike manner or from sound materials or which, in the opinion of the Council, disfigure the cemetery or offend public decency.

14.3 Temporarily remove any memorial if necessary, to prepare an adjacent grave for interment. Adjacent memorials moved for health and safety purposes will be replaced as soon as possible once the interment has taken place.

14.4 Remove any unauthorised memorial or tombstone in accordance with article 14 of the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977, and shall be at the expense of the grave owner or their personal representative.

15. Full Memorial Plots

15.1 On full memorial grave plots, no memorial must exceed the following dimensions:

• single grave 1981mm x 762mm x 1219mm (6'6" x 2'6" x 4')
• double grave 1981mm x 1981mm x 1219mm (6'6" x 6'6" x 4')

15.2 Drawings of all proposed memorials with particulars of materials to be used and inscriptions shall be submitted on the appropriate form to the Council together with the appropriate fee.

15.3 Every memorial shall have the grave number cut conspicuously on the base of the memorial. If the grave number is removed as a result of renovation, memorial masons must re-cut the grave number into the memorial. No memorials constructed of Caen, Bath or other freestone of a soft nature, fibreglass, wood or plastic will be permitted in the cemeteries.

15.4 All fixing dowels shall be of a non-corrosive type.

15.5 All kerbstones and memorials on private graves must be fixed on either a hard York stone landing or a reinforced concrete landing of approved manufacture not less than 76mm (3") in thickness.

15.6 All memorials at Hillview Cemetery must be placed on either two or three concrete support bearers.

15.7 Kerbs shall be constructed of a single piece of stone not less than 101mm (4") x 101mm (4") x 101mm (4”). Corner posts may be incorporated in the kerb set but shall be constructed of a single piece of natural stone not less than 101mm (4") square. All memorials or kerb sets shall be constructed of granite, marble, slate or other hard natural stone of durable and sound quality. Stones or pebbles will not be permitted.

15.8 Items not permitted on graves are:

• railings
• fences
• chains
• wind chimes
• loose stones or chippings
• unattended lit candles
• log roll
• glass
• timber
• plastic
• ferrous metals
• tiles
• pottery
• tin
• wire mesh

This list is not exhaustive. If you have any doubt, please write to the Council’s main cemetery office and wait for written permission.

15.9 Candles will be removed if left alight whilst unattended.

15.10 Temporary memorials in the set form of a wooden cross may be erected, providing they do not exceed 914mm (3') in height above the ground. These can remain in place for up to 12 months and, after this period, will be removed and disposed of. In exceptional circumstances, written permission may be granted to extend this period.

15.11 All Council registered workmen employed on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right of burial or personal representative of such person to erect any monument shall carry out their work strictly under the direction of the Council and shall:

• at the cost of the owner, or personal representative, fill up and level the ground, remove all waste, spoil and unwanted material and make good any damage whatsoever occasioned in the process of work. Perform the work during the normal opening hours of the cemeteries office
• provide their own tools and equipment and complete the work with due dispatch

15.12 The Council must receive seven days advance written notification for the removal of any memorial from the cemetery.

16. Special regulations relating to Lawn Plots and Section R at Sidcup Cemetery and Children’s area at Erith Cemetery

16.1 Subject to the provisions of these regulations, memorials must be of hard natural stone or granite of a design approved by the Council and must conform with the following dimensions and may only take the form of:

16.2 Lawn Plot headstones which must not exceed 838mm (2'9") in height, and 609mm (2') in width with a minimum thickness of 76mm (3"), erected on a base not exceeding 762mm (2'6") in width, 457mm (1'6") in-depth and 76mm (3") thickness; or

16.3 No footstones, kerbs, landings or memorials of any other description will be permitted on a Lawn Plot.

16.4 In Section R at Sidcup Cemetery sizes as above with a compulsory 914mm x 914mm (3’ x 3’) kerbs.

16.5 In the Children’s area at Erith cemetery, no memorial must exceed 609mm (2’) overall height.

17. The Memorial Terrace at Erith Cemetery terms and conditions of ownership

17.1 Ownership, the chambers, structure and primary memorials shall remain the property of the London Borough of Bexley (the Council) throughout the period of the lease except for those items previously approved personalised inscriptions that can be detached without damage to the primary memorialisation.

17.2 Assignments of chambers, all persons for whom a grave is intended shall be named in the application and lease. No chamber shall remain unassigned.

17.3 Period of the lease, the exclusive right of burial for the facilities are offered on a lease for a period of either 50 or 75 years.

17.4 Charges

• the Council annually reviews its cemetery fees, including charges payable in respect of the exclusive burial area at the Memorial Terrace at Erith Cemetery. Consequently, fees and charges may rise or fall
• all charges payable at the time of entering into a lease will be applied according to the current annual fees set by the Council. These are non-refundable
• the charge payable upon the execution of the lease includes the first interment and all primary memorialisation
• subsequent interments will be charged at the rate detailed in the Council’s published fees and charges for the year in which the internment occurs

17.5 Residents and non-residents

• fees and charges differ between residents and non-residents of the London Borough of Bexley. Fees applicable to deceased residents are charged at a lower rate than that of deceased non-residents
• to qualify for ‘resident charges’, all persons named must reside in the London Borough of Bexley at the date of the application
• if, at any time after the lease has been executed, any persons named in the lease are amended, the fees payable in respect of the substituted person(s) will depend upon whether there is residence or non-residence in the London Borough of Bexley at the time of the amendment. If there is an amendment from a resident to a non-resident, no refund will be payable
• all non-residents named in the application and lease shall be charged a set proportion of the non-resident value rate for the grave based upon the number of chambers in the grave. The charge for two non-residents interred in a grave set aside for four interments shall be one-half of the total non-resident value for the grave and so on

17.6 Maintenance and repair

• it is the responsibility of the holder of the exclusive right of burial (the leaseholder) to ensure that all memorialisation and structures are kept in a continuous state of good repair
• in the event of any part of the memorial or structure falling into disrepair, the leaseholder shall ensure that suitable and proper repairs are to be carried out within a reasonable timescale, the Council will serve a notice upon the leaseholder specifying the works to be carried out and the timescale for doing so. If the leaseholder fails to comply with the terms of the notice, the Council shall commission the necessary repairs, and the leaseholder shall be recharged the cost of such repairs and the administration fees incurred

17.7 Additional memorialisation, inscriptions and mementoes

• additional approved memorialisation (including inscriptions) is available from the Council at an additional cost that shall be confirmed at the time of submission of the application

17.8 Internal dimensions

• no alterations to the internal dimensions of the burial chambers are physically possible. Consequently, the maximum external size of a coffin or casket at a point, including projecting handles, that can be interred is 84’ long, 30” wide, and 21” high (2133 x 762 x 533mm)

17.9 Exclusive burial area

• the Memorial Terrace is an exclusive burial area. In order to maintain the special nature of the terrace, no mementoes are allowed to be permanently placed or fixed on a grave
• items left for special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries are permitted
• however, they will be carefully removed by the Council after 14 days and stored in the cemetery compound for 28 days
• if not collected within the 28-day period, they will be disposed of

18. Floral tributes

18.1 On the day of the funeral, flowers and wreaths may be placed upon the grave in which the burial takes place and may remain there for up to fourteen days, after which they will generally be removed at the discretion of the cemetery superintendent.

18.2 The Council, as part of the general service, will provide vases for floral tributes. No other receptacles will be permitted, including those for plot plants.

19. Maintenance planting and flowers in lawn plot areas

19.1 As soon as convenient after the interment and during the appropriate season, the Council will add soil, sow grass seed or lay turf over the area of the grave, leaving a portion at the head designated the earth border. 18" X 2’ 6" wide. It is the responsibility of the grave owner to keep the grave space free from weeds and in a tidy condition. In default, the Council reserves the right to level and turf the grave.

19.2 No persons other than duly authorised officers of the Council shall interfere with or alter the grass area of the grave, which will be maintained by the Council at no cost to the owner of the grave.

19.3 Flowers, shrubs or trees of any kind or wreaths or flower containers etc., will not be allowed to be taken out of the cemeteries without permission of the cemetery superintendent or the written permission of the owner of the article concerned.

19.4 Small annual bedding plants and bulbs are only permitted within the head bed area of the grave.

19.5 No trees or shrubs, including rosebushes, shall be planted on any grave (full or lawn plot) whether the exclusive right of burial has been purchased or not. The Council reserves the right to remove shrubs, trees or plants that become unsightly or overgrown and cause encroachment.

20. Miscellaneous

20.1 Undertakers shall give notice to the Council’s main cemeteries office when they are conducting a funeral that is likely to be numerously attended, or there are any other special requirements.

20.2 The registers of burials are kept at the Council’s main cemeteries office. The registers are computerised, and searches may be requested and extracts obtained upon payment of a fee as prescribed in the scale of charges.

20.3 Questions arising for which no provision is made in these Regulations shall be referred to the Council's Deputy Director, Highways and Amenities, to which the Council has delegated its powers on this matter and whose decision shall be final.

20.4 The Council reserves to itself the right to revise regulations at any time.

20.5 Any complaint relating to any aspect of the cemeteries service should be made in writing to the Head of Parks and Open Spaces.

Although regulations are a necessary requirement for the management of Bexley’s cemeteries, every effort has been made to avoid restricting the rights and choices of the individual. Therefore, these regulations have been prepared with a balance between individual rights and the need to regulate for safe and tidy grounds.

21. Revocation

21.1 All other regulations for cemeteries made by the Council prior to 1 January 2010 are hereby revoked.

The Cemeteries Office
Civic Offices
2 Watling Street
Bexleyheath
DA6 7AT
Telephone 020 3045 4100
Email cemeteries@bexley.gov.uk