Rules and Regulations in respect of the Borough Cemeteries
Management of Memorials
- A memorial may only be placed upon a grave for which the Exclusive Right of Burial and the Right to Erect and Maintain a Memorial have been purchased.
- The Right to Erect and Maintain a Memorial will be granted for a period of 30 years. This period will run in conjunction with the Certificate of Compliance issued by the mason to guarantee the stability of the memorial over that 30 year period.
- The Grant of this Right will commence from the date a new memorial is installed.
- Upon expiry of this 30 year period, the Grantee has the option to renew the Right for further consecutive periods of 5 years, provided that the memorial continues to meet the required safety standards.
- The Grantee is responsible for the ongoing maintenance and safety of the memorial, together with any associated costs incurred.
- Following inspection, if the memorial is found to be in an unsafe condition, it may be made safe by the Cemeteries Superintendent or the Asset Management Team, as a precaution to public safety. A charge for this safety measure will be directed to the Grantee for payment.
- Grantees may, therefore, wish to consider taking out appropriate insurance to cover this eventuality, as Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will not assume financial liability for such action. However, where safety measures have been taken as a result of defective workmanship, and a Certificate of Compliance is in force, the Grantee will have their own personal right of redress against the mason concerned.
- Where the sole Grantee is deceased, legal entitlement to exercise the Rights to the grave must be established, and a full legal transfer of these Rights completed, before any application for memorial works can be approved by the Council. In this instance, families should contact Bereavement Services, who will be pleased to arrange a Transfer of the Rights.
- The installation of vaults, walled graves, flat stones and kerbstones is not permitted in the cemeteries. Permission will not be given for any existing kerbstones to be refitted onto concrete frame foundations. Similarly, when pre-existing kerbs are removed to facilitate a burial, they may not be replaced.
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