CEMETERY COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Cemetery Committee held at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 13 November 2002 in The Institute. Councillor Fisk, Chair, presided over Councillors Auger, Lewis and the clerk. No members of the public were present.

019 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE none as all were present.

020 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST none.

021 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

It was noted that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 30 September 2002 had been received at the Council meeting held on 31 October 2002 without adverse comment. It was agreed that the minutes were a true and correct record and resolved to accept the minutes as read and adopted

022 MATTERS ARISING NOT DEALT WITH ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA

.1 Unauthorised memorials/planting on grave surfaces

It was unanimously agreed to approve the draft notice prepared by the clerk in this respect (see attached).

.2 Burial Fees

It was unanimously agreed to accept the revised fee schedule following the changes agreed by the Council at the meeting on 31 October 2002.

023 CORRESPONDENCE none received.

024 GRANTS OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS

The clerk advised that the fee schedule did not indicate the period for which exclusive rights of burial were granted and upon inspection of Council minutes reported that a resolution had never been made of the Council in this respect. Having obtained advice from the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils, the clerk reported that the recommended period should be 75 years with an option to extend for further periods of 10 years thereafter. Members accepted this advice and it was agreed to recommend that the Council resolves to grant exclusive rights with effect from 1 November 2002 for a period of 75 years and that extensions may be granted for a further ten year period upon written application to the Council and payment of the fee in force at that time. For the purpose of the current scale of fees, it was further agreed to recommend that the extension fee be set at £10 for a burial space and £5 for a cremation space. A revised fee schedule incorporating this is attached.

025 QUOTATIONS FOR SAFETY WORKS TO HEADSTONES AND MEMORIALS

The clerk reported that further advice had been sought from South Kesteven District Council and as a result, a specification for works had been offered for tender to four builders selected by reference to the District Council’s approved list or following other works undertaken on behalf of the Parish Council in the past. The specification required a site survey to produce a plan and schedule identifying the headstones requiring attention and an assessment of urgency in each case. In most instances it will prove easier and cheaper to reset the stones upright but in a number of cases it may mean that the stone will have to be laid flat upon the grave surface. During a sample inspection of the area, the clerk noted that there were a large number of stones that might need some attention.

Only two builders responded and those submissions were studied in detail. Burmor Construction had priced the work at £25 per hour for the survey and report and £40 per hour for the remedial works. There was no indication of the number of hours each element would take or example of how the survey and plan would be produced. The Committee agreed that it would be imprudent to award the works on this basis. Robinson Construction (Deeping) Ltd submitted a fixed price for surveying and providing a drawing of the site in the sum of £550 and a further fixed price of £825 to provide a survey report and detailed schedule on the headstones and their condition. The cost of updating the drawing and schedule at some point in the future was priced at £175. Examples of the drawing and schedule accompanied the submission and members agreed that both would be an invaluable asset in ensuring that the Parish Council met its obligations with regards to health and safety issues. With regard to the remedial works, the price would be £35 per hour according to the results of the survey. All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT.

Having studied the current financial position it was noted that there were sufficient funds to meet the anticipated costs of these works in this financial year. In view of the Parish Council’s obligation of a duty of care to visitors to the cemetery, it was unanimously agreed to recommend that the works be awarded to Robinson Construction (Deeping) Ltd as per the submission dated 7 November 2002 in the sum of £1,375 plus VAT for the initial survey, drawing and schedule and £35 per hour for remedial works to those headstones/memorials agreed to constitute an urgent threat.

026 QUOTATION FOR ADDITIONAL GROUND MAINTENANCE WORKS

Members agreed that additional clearance works were needed in the old cemetery along the boundary with Burghley Close in order to remove scrub growth such as elder and also a dead tree. A quotation of £300 from Huddlestone Landscapes was received in this respect and having consulted the financial position of the budget it was agreed to recommend that the works be undertaken during this financial year.

027 BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2003/04

Members agreed that it was unlikely that the cemetery extension works would commence in this financial year and that the allocation in the current budget would therefore return to the Council’s overall balances at the end of the year. This would need to be taken into account when setting the new budget. In view of the additional works recommended as detailed above, it was expected that all other expenditure would be on target. With regard to the higher than expected income received so far this year, it was noted that recent publicity concerning the possible relocation of the cemetery had prompted a number of people to reserve plots in the remaining ground. This trend is not expected to continue in the longer term. The following budget was unanimously agreed and will be submitted to the Precept meeting on 2 January 2003 for adoption:

Expenditure

Grounds Maintenance*                                £4,500
Miscellaneous items e.g. rates, water rates etc.    £ 250
Notice board                                        £ 450
Cemetery extension preparation works                £2,000  £7,200
Income                                                      £1,000
Net budget                                                  £6,200