Woodgreen Cemetery Rules
The Parish Council owns and manages the cemetery which is located at the southern end of the village on the road towards Godshill. The cemetery rules and charges are shown below and were last amended in December 2020.
Right to a Burial or Interment of Ashes Space
There is a right to a burial or interment of ashes space for:
Any person who dies within the parish.
Any resident (i.e. on the electoral register of the parish or residing in a property with a Woodgreen postal address in postcode areas SP6 2QX, SP6 2AL, SP6 2AN & SP6 2BJ) or a child of a resident, wherever they die.
Any spouse or partner of anyone already buried or with ashes already interred in the cemetery.
Any parent of a child already buried or with ashes already interred in the cemetery.
Any child of a parent already buried or with ashes already interred in the cemetery.
Any person not covered by the above, provided that it can be established to the satisfaction of the Parish Council that such person has resided within the parish for a period totalling in excess of five years out of the previous ten years immediately before their death, or who in the unanimous opinion of the parish council has made a significant contribution to the village.
(“Child” is defined as offspring/issue under the age of eighteen years for all the cemetery rules)
The parish council will always seek to accommodate personal preferences but great importance has to be placed upon the orderly use and management of the limited land available and any decisions made by the parish council must be final. An area at the southern end of the cemetery is set aside for the interment of ashes.
Interment of Family Ashes in an Existing Space
The interment of a person’s ashes in the existing burial or cremation space of a family member will be at the discretion of the parish council.
Reservation of Spaces
Reservation of a spaces is not permitted except where, at the time of a first burial or interment of ashes, a spouse partner or parent (in the case of a child) of the deceased wishes to reserve an exclusive right to their burial or interment of their ashes in a separate space. Upon payment of an administration fee of £25, a space is reserved for 75 years.
Rights given to an unbroken plot reserved under previous rules shall lapse after 60 years.
Memorials
Details for all proposed memorials, headstones, crosses and plaques, including inscriptions, must be submitted to the parish council for approval at least five weeks before intended installation.
Kerbs in any material are no longer allowed and only grass can cover the grave.
Headstones (maximum height 1.2 metres) should have a protective plinth, 6-9cms wide, at ground level, so as not to impede mechanical maintenance work. The preferred material to be used is light coloured natural stone with a matt finish e.g. Purbeck or Chilmark stone.
No photographs are allowed on any memorial.
Flower vases are to be set into the grave or memorial and no trees or shrubs may be planted in any area of the cemetery.
In the cremation area, the 45cm x 30cm plot must be covered by a 0.5cm thick stone cover upon which any memorial plaque should be mounted, but no stonework or memorial should be above ground level.
No other memorial will be permitted in the cremation area although flowers may be placed upon the memorial plaque.
Cemetery Charges (rates effective from 1st January 2021)
Charges for burial or interment of ashes are made up of three parts as shown and explained further in the Notes below:
- Purchase of an exclusive right of burial for 75 years,
Single Grave – £300
Double Depth Grave – £325
Cremation Space – £150
- Burial or Interment of ashes in a new or existing space £200
- Memorials
Headstone or Other Memorial for grave – £150
Memorial Plaque for Cremation Area: not exceeding 45cms x 30cms £100
Additional Inscription to Existing Memorial – £ 50
Notes: When a space is purchased at the time of a death, this refers to the purchasing of an exclusive right of burial or cremation space and not the purchase of the land itself as this remains the property of Woodgreen Parish Council. The fee (See A above) also covers the owners contribution to the continuing maintenance of the cemetery for the next 75 years but not the maintenance of the space itself or any memorial which is the owners responsibility as explained under the heading Cemetery Maintenance below. After 75 years the grave or cremation space reverts back to the council.
The interment fee (See B above) is an administration charge incurred each time a plot is opened and covers the cost of updating of statutory burial records, software and licences, clerk time etc.
Additional fees are charged for memorial (See C above)
Cemetery Records and Fees
The parish council maintains all records required by law. Record enquiries should be made to the clerk by appointment but a fee of £25 may be made for a detailed search of the cemetery register and £15 will be charged for a certified extract. Graves and Cremation Spaces are identified by a grid reference system.
Cemetery Maintenance
Whilst next of kin are responsible for the maintenance of individual burial and cremation spaces, the parish council has a responsibility for the cemetery as a whole and in particular the cutting of grass around graves, on paths and unused areas.
Visitors are requested to maintain their floral tributes but the parish council may remove any it feels are unsuitable. Due to collection difficulties visitors are requested to take home all decayed tributes and containers.
The parish council reserves the right, in the interest of tidiness and safety, to take any action required to maintain safety and an acceptable appearance of the cemetery. Where graves are overgrown and unattended they may be flattened in order to allow easier maintenance but every attempt to contact next of kin first will be made. We have a policy of removing edging when necessary for safety, aesthetics and ease of mowing
Under no circumstances is the scattering of ashes allowed in the cemetery or on adjacent Crown Land.
Procedures
Applications for interments should be made to the parish clerk as soon as possible following a bereavement but at least five working days before an intended interment. The parish clerk will then agree a burial or cremation space with the next of kin, executors or undertaker and will issue the appropriate paperwork which should be completed and returned before or at the interment.
Burials and Interment of Ashes are allowed between the hours of 10.00 and 16.00 Monday to Friday and are be carried out by an undertaker.
It is the undertaker’s responsibility to provide the services of a sexton. It should be noted that it is an offence against the New Forest byelaws to deposit waste gravel and other materials on the Crown Land surrounding the cemetery and they must be taken away and disposed of elsewhere.
All enquiries should be made via the Parish Clerk.
Email parish.clerk@woodgreen-pc.gov.uk or telephone 07553 728121 / 01725 511636