Legal News | 17.10.24
Dead and Buried?
In the spirit of the upcoming Hallowe’en season, the Law Commission has opened a consultation to review and reform the law of burial. It has been noted that burial space is running out, with the situation worse in urban areas. This consultation aims to help manage the shortage of burial space.
Parts of the law on burial and cremation date back to the 1850s and are now deemed to be unfit for the 21st century. The law is complex as different laws apply to differently owned burial spaces, for instance local authority spaces, private burial grounds and Church of England graveyards.
One proposal is to ‘reuse’ older graves, which is currently only permitted in some burial grounds when the last burial was made at least 75 years ago. However, there is scope for this to apply to any burial ground, with a proposed period of 100 years.
A second proposal would be to re-open burial grounds which were closed by law during the Victorian period and to reuse the graves found within those.
The siting of crematoria is also addressed within the consultation. Currently crematoria have to be constructed at least 200 yards away from residential homes, and 50 yards from public highways. However, with modern technology which can reduce emissions, the question of whether this rule should remain has been raised.
The consultation is open until 9 January 2025 and responses are welcome from professionals and individuals alike, so everyone can have their say.
