Ownership of Rye Cemetery could be transferred to Rye Town Council as part of local government reform, but it is unclear if the council is willing to take on such a ‘big ticket’ responsibility.
The council will have a better idea of townspeople’s priorities when it receives the results of its survey on public asset transfer preferences. Rye Town Council are seeking the views of residents on the possible transfer of assets to the council as reported in Rye News last week. The deadline for submission is midnight on Sunday, September 14.
The cemetery, currently owned and operated by Rother District Council (RDC), was owned by Rye Borough Council until 1974. It is arguably one of the largest assets the town council could find itself with in the near future.
However, the cemetery faces two main problems: a shortage of space and public concern over escalating burial fees.
In Rye Cemetery, RDC’s Cemeteries Service has now started using its 3rd Division area, also known as the Union Workhouse field, where numerous bodies from the workhouse were buried between 1845 and 1940.
RDC reportedly deployed ground-penetrating radar recently to reveal the exact location of the bodies to target where new graves can be placed.
Given the restricted use of this field, additional land will need to be bought at some stage — perhaps by compulsory purchase. It’s also believed that space is running out in the Garden of Remembrance and townspeople can no longer reserve a plot.
Jackie Richards, director of Rye-based undertakers Ellis Bros, says she enjoys a good working relationship with RDC’s cemeteries team, but points to some advantages in returning the cemetery ownership to Rye.
For example, there may be scope to change some of the more contentious regulations. Currently, if a Rye resident leaves the district for more than a year (by entering a care home, for instance) and then passes away, he or she faces a doubling of burial fees. Ms Richards believes the non-residence period could perhaps be extended to five years.
The present burial fees charged by RDC are £1,202 to dig the grave and an identical charge for 50 years’ exclusive rights to the plot. An extra £480 is levied for a 2-ft deeper grave to accommodate a double burial. On top of this is £167 to apply for a headstone.
Indeed, some people argue that burial charges have reached a level that ‘outprices’ many in the local community. At the moment, cremation remains the choice for 75%-80% of locals, with fees currently standing at between £415 and £952 for Hastings crematorium.
Image Credits: David Worwood .