Cemetery regulations

We introduced Cemetery Regulations to maintain an acceptable standard for the cemeteries in Eden.

Terms used in regulations

• "The Council" means Eden District Council.
• "The Cemetery" means any cemetery managed by us and includes any chapels or buildings therein which are not privately owned.
• "The Bereavement Services Office" covers all the cemeteries maintained by us.
• "Memorial" can refer to:
  • A headstone.
  • A Monument.
  • A Cross.
  • A Flat stone.
  • Kerbing.
  • Any other object placed over the grave.

General regulations

• We permit pedestrian access from 8am until dusk.
• We restrict vehicle access, except for attendance at an interment, to disabled or infirm visitors and those authorised by us.
• We do not allow vehicles in the Cemetery after dusk, unless authorised by us.
• Vehicle speed is 5mph.
• Do not ride bicycles, skate boards or similar in the cemetery.
• A responsible adult must accompany children under 12 years of age.
• Keep dogs on leads and do not allow them to foul the cemetery grounds.

For further advice on cemetery regulations:

Contact the Bereavement Services Office

Contact the Duty Officer to make interment bookings through the designated cemetery number or email address.

Interments

See the interments page for all details.

Certificate for disposal

• The Registrar's Certificate for Disposal.
• The Coroner's Order for Burial.
• You must give the *Certificate of Cremation to the Duty Cemetery Officer by 9am. This must be 48 hours before an interment can take place.

*We would prefer that you provide the Cremation Certificate to us 48 hours before interment takes place. If you are unable to produce it beforehand, we will accept it at the graveside, before the start of the burial.

Purchased graves

The purchase of a grave for Exclusive Rights of Burial. This gives the purchaser/s:

• The right for burial in the grave.
• The right to authorise the use of the grave for other interments.
• The right to apply for the erection of a memorial.

The original purchaser/s need to give authorisation for the use of a grave if the deceased is not the owner and will need to provide the original grave deed. If you cannot produce the grave deed, you will need to complete a Statutory Declaration.

If a grave is to be used and the deceased is not the owner and the original purchaser/s are deceased, you will need to complete a Statutory Declaration.

Exclusive Rights of Burial are currently granted for 50 years from the date of purchase.

Exclusive Rights of Burial granted before April 2000 are for 100 years from the date of purchase.

The owner of the Exclusive Rights of Burial may transfer the right to another person. They can do this by submitting a Transfer Application Form. This is obtainable from Penrith Cemetery Office, and by payment of a transfer fee.

Grave spaces

• Standard grave space 2.7m (9') x 1.2m (4').
• Half grave spaces available for a child or cremated remains interment.
• Full grave spaces are available for up to:
  • Penrith Cemetery - 3 burials, followed by up to 8 interments of cremated remains;
  • Appleby Cemetery - 2 burials, followed by up to 8 interments of cremated remains;
  • Alston, Garrigill and Nenthead Cemeteries - 1 burial, followed by up to 8 interments of cremated remains.

Half graves

For up to 4 interments of cremated remains.

Depth of grave

Graves have to be dug to a sufficient depth to allow for future burials to take place. The grave needs to be deep enough to allow the depth and shape of coffins/caskets. It must accommodate the legal requirements of undisturbed earth between each coffin. This is the amount of earth that must cover the last interment.

Public graves

These are graves which are not purchased and do not have Exclusive Rights to the grave. You cannot erect a memorial.

Soil boxes

We reserve the right to place a soil box on a grave next to those which are being opened, without any notice. Cemetery staff will remove the soil box immediately after the interment and will leave the grave as it was before.

Coffins

We accept coffins made from:

• Wood
• Wicker/cane
• Cardboard
• Biodegradable caskets
• Shrouds
• Urns

for burial. Non-standard coffins incur an extra fee.

Funerals

The Duty Officer must receive all necessary original documents by 9am, 48 hours before the funeral. We cannot receive documents on weekends or public holidays. Without the original documents, we will not allow the interment to proceed.

The conduct of all funerals within the cemetery is subject to the control of our designated officer.

With prior permission, you may play music in the cemetery grounds.

Immediately after the interment, cemetery staff will backfill the grave to the level of adjoining ground and will place any floral tributes on the grave.

Flowers and wreaths

Cemetery staff will remove floral tributes placed at the time of burial after three weekends have elapsed since burial.

If requested by the grave owner, we may remove any floral tributes earlier, or leave them on for up to a maximum of four weekends after the burial. The grave owner must contact the Bereavement Services Office to arrange for this within 5 days following the burial. 

• Cemetery staff may decide to remove floral tributes earlier if they become unsightly.
• Cemetery staff will remove Christmas wreaths during the second week of February.
• Those visiting the grave must maintain other floral tributes.
• Place all material suitable for composting, for example, floral, plant remains, in the wheeled bins provided.
• Place all other waste material in the black wheeled bins or baskets located at the cemetery gates.

Memorials

• You may place memorials only on a grave space for which your purchased the Exclusive Rights of Burial.
• We do not permit memorials in the Woodland Burial Area at Penrith Cemetery, or on any graves or cremated remains plots for which there was no purchase of the Exclusive Rights of Burial.
• We permit a wooden cross as a temporary grave marker in lawn cemetery areas, before the installation of a permanent memorial. You must then remove the wooden cross from the cemetery.
• Only one headstone/memorial per grave space.
• We do not allow new footstones, kerbstones or other forms of surround.
• You must submit an application for all proposed memorials and inscriptions to us for approval. You must pay all appropriate fees before works are undertaken on site.
• A competent stonemason registered with us must construct and install all permanent memorials to the satisfaction of the Supervising Officer. This is under the current National Association of Memorial Masons Code of Practice. A copy is available on request.
• No work is to take place in the cemetery before 8.30am and after 5.00pm or sunset (whichever is sooner). No work will take place on Saturdays, Sundays, or any bank or public holidays, except by agreement with us. Monumental masons must suspend work for the duration of a funeral.
• The person erecting the memorial must make good any damage done in connection with the erection of the memorial. You must leave the site in a tidy condition.
• No memorial may exceed 1.2m (4') in height and 0.75m (2'6'') in width on single grave spaces or 1.8m (6') width on double grave spaces.
• Memorials in cremated remains rows and children's burial areas may not exceed 0.685m (2'3'') in height.
• All memorials must be installed with stainless steel ground anchors which comply with the NAMM Code of Practice, except by agreement with us.
• All new memorials must have the corresponding grave space number placed clearly on the left hand side of the stones base, or the reverse of the memorial.
• Memorials in the existing cemetery areas are to be installed on 36"x18" (0.92 x 0.45m) concrete flags, except by agreement with us.
• Memorials installed in the Lawn Area of the extension land at Penrith Cemetery are to be installed on  36"x18" (0.90 x 0.45m) concrete flags and set below ground level, except by agreement with us.
• We may temporarily remove fixed memorials without prior notice to allow a nearby grave to be safely dug in preparation for use.
• The responsibility for the safety and upkeep, including repairs to any gravestone or memorial, remains solely with the owner(s) of the grave or their successor(s) in title.
• We will make regular checks of memorials. Any memorials found to be unstable will be temporarily supported or laid flat. We reserve the right to repair or remove unsafe memorials at our discretion if we cannot find the owner or successor, or the owner or successor refuses to arrange repairs.
• You cannot plant shrubs, plants, bulbs and trees without our permission and then only in the immediate surrounds of the memorial space at the head of the grave (36''x18''). We reserve the right to prune or remove, without notice, any tree or plant that becomes a hazard, a nuisance or an obstruction.
• We reserve the right to remove any items not contained within the footprint of the headstone base (36''x18'') which we deem as dangerous, a nuisance, or inappropriate.

Rights

We reserve the right to amend any of the foregoing regulations and to deal with any circumstances or contingency not provided for in the regulations as necessary.

We have in pursuance of our General Powers of Management contained in Article 3 (1) of the Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977, made the Cemetery Rules and Regulations. You must observe the rules and regulations in the cemeteries under our management and control.