A council has heard how the cost of hiring a crane should be factored into cemetery charges when burying deceased who weigh more than 25 stone.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council had launched a consultation asking 300 clergy, funeral directors and stone masons for their opinions on regulations on cemeteries, including charge a supplement for "oversized" coffins as “such a burial requires additional resource and expenditure”.
Initial responses presented to councillors indicated that three replies said an additional charge was “acceptable” as long as the fee was “reasonable”. One respondent said that the additional cost of crane hire could be factored into other cemetery charges so that the cost is “not borne directly by the loved ones of the deceased”.
One suggestion said a crane is not necessary for additional weight and indicated that other councils can carry out burials of up to 35 stone using “manual methods”.
Another said grave diggers should not be required to carry “exceptionally heavy coffins” to prevent injury.
One of the respondents said it would be “heartless to have a family witness their loved one lowered by crane” and suggested that if staff are willing to lower a coffin manually, then this should be allowed.
It was also suggested that costs are raised “across the board” to cover any additional cost.
Respondents were also asked for their view on the legal requirement for the depth of a new grave which is 274cm/nine ft as long as ground conditions permit.
One commented that this requirement limits the number of caskets per plot to three and most families expect to be able to bury four per plot.
Another stressed that accurate records must be kept so that families are “fully aware of the number of interments that can be accommodated within a grave”.
The council was told that a new grave “needs to be at least nine ft deep and able to accommodate four burials otherwise fees ought to be reduced”.
The consultation also asked about headstones and grave surrounds. The council proposes a stipulation that headstones and surrounds are not permitted within the “paupers'” sections of the borough’s cemeteries.
One response stated that a no surround rule needs to be “rigorously enforced” in the new Larne Cemetery. A lawn cemetery has been proposed at the facility at Old Glenarm Road.
Planning permission for a new £2.1m cemetery at the site was approved by the council’s Planning Committee last May.
