CEMETERY COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Cemetery Committee held at 10.00am on Saturday, 13 December 2003 at The Institute due to inclement weather (notices, including the Cemetery notice, were changed prior to the meeting notifying of the new venue). Councillor Fisk, Chairman, presided over Councillor Auger and the clerk. The Clerk Designate was also in attendance. No members of the public were present.

028    APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllr Abel and Cllr Blades, due to a family commitment.

029    DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None.

030    MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

It was proposed by Cllr Fisk and seconded by Cllr Auger that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2003 be adopted. These were duly signed by the Chairman.

031    MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BURIAL AUTHORITIES

Following a proposal by Cllr Fisk seconded by Cllr Auger, it was resolved to renew membership of the Association of Burial Authorities at a fee of £35.

032    BUDGET REVIEW

Members studied the budget report provided by the clerk and were content that it was progressing satisfactorily. It was noted that there would be a significant under-spend on the allocation for the cemetery extension at the year end which would revert to the general reserves. It was agreed that this would be taken into account when setting the budget for the forthcoming financial year.

The clerk reported that it had not been possible to complete a feasibility study into employing a Parish Maintenance Worker but information on possible job descriptions/person specifications and contracts of employment had been sourced via Peterborough City Council. The clerk further reported that other committees had assumed that they would be able to utilise such an employee, budgeting accordingly on the basis of an hourly rate in the region of £6, and that it was the Council’s intention to also commence additional litter picking in the village, which could form part of the job description.

Assuming a cemetery maintenance programme of 26 cuts per year, phased to match the growing season, plus other related tasks in the cemetery it was agreed that 650 hours would need to be budgeted for. It was also felt that due to the gearing of much of this and other identified work in the late spring, summer and early autumn, an annual hours contract should be investigated. The Committee agreed as the main employer’ to build into its budget the cost of an Essential Users car allowance, as the post-holder would need to be mobile to access the various areas of the village to undertake his/her duties, and also include a sum to provide miscellaneous tools, equipment and a secure storage space at The Institute. It was accepted that employing a Parish Maintenance Worker would be more expensive than the current costs but noted that these were now, in any event, subject to review. It was further felt that this option would provide improved maintenance standards than currently experienced together with more flexibility.

Following a proposal by Cllr Fisk seconded by Cllr Auger, it was resolved to submit the following budget to the Finance Committee:

Expenditure	£	Income	£
Grounds Maintenance	6,500	Burial fees	500
Tools/storage area	1,000	Memorial fees	100
Miscellaneous items (Rates, water etc.)	200	Commonwealth War Graves fee	10
Cemetery extension	1,800
Total	9,500	Total	610
Net budget	8,890

033    BURIAL GROUND EXTENSION

Members noted that planning permission would be required for the next section of burial ground. Following a proposal by Cllr Fisk seconded by Cllr Auger, it was resolved to authorise the clerk to obtain a survey and drawing of the area required in order to submit a planning application. Quotations will also be sought for the ground preparation and fencing works. The clerk confirmed that S.K.D.C. was being asked to consider reimbursing the Council for the cost of obtaining a temporary relaxation of the covenant on the remaining balance of land in order to permit the children’s play area to be re-sited elsewhere on the field.

034    HEADSTONE SAFETY

The clerk reported that the planned works had been satisfactorily completed, with one exception. During the works, one headstone some 1700mm high which had particularly deteriorated in its foundations due to lack of care and attention on the owners’ part had fallen due to its sheer size and weight and consequently was damaged. The contractor accepted responsibility for this and requested that the Council asked the owners to contact them. This headstone is in part of the cemetery which opened before the Burial Board came into being and as a result, no records exist. The clerk had placed a letter on the grave prior to the works commencing; this is still there and although public notices, adverts and the newsletter were used to extensively notify the works, only two owners of other headstones came forward as a result. It was felt that the Committee could not recommend any course of action without inspecting the headstone first.

With regard to other headstones made safe, the clerk reported that the total cost of the work including labour and materials was £1,032.88 (excluding VAT), slightly less than had been anticipated. The average cost per headstone was £27.92 (ex VAT). The Parish Council previously agreed to meet the cost where, in the clerk’s judgement following close inspection on site, there was no evidence of the problem resulting from the headstone or negligence on behalf of the grave’s owner i.e. subsidence of the surrounding area which caused the stone to lean or tilt in an unsatisfactory manner (15 cases). Where the potential hazard lay within the headstone’s structure or fixings, as it did in 18 cases, it was agreed that the Parish Council would seek reimbursement of the costs incurred from the owner where it has been possible to identify him/her from the means used to satisfy Schedule 3 of the Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977 when planning the works. It was agreed that the clerk should place a notice on the Cemetery Notice Board requesting owners to come forward so that an invoice for the average cost per memorial (half the cost where the fault was identified as being of joint responsibility as in 4 cases) can be issued. It was further agreed to recommend that the Council reviews outstanding debts at the March 2004 Council meeting and resolves upon further action at that time.

035    MAINTENACE INSPECTION OF THE CEMETERY

Due to the inclement weather, it was agreed to postpone the inspection to the next meeting. The clerk reported that there were currently no known problems.    

036    BURIAL AND HEADSTONE REGULATIONS

    Following a proposal by Cllr Fisk seconded by Cllr Auger, it was resolved that the clerk should bring proposals for burial and headstone regulations, to include general Cemetery regulations, to the June Council meeting in order that they may be considered and implemented with effect from 1 July 2004.

037    BURIAL RECORDS

The clerk reported that the County Archivist had confirmed that the missing Burial Registers were not stored in the County Archives and that all possible leads as to their whereabouts had now been investigated. It was noted that it was a requirement of legislation to hold such registers and that a start had been made to recreate the details from other documents in the Council’s possession. It was agreed that this exercise should be completed when resources permit.

038    HEADSTONE INSPECTION

At this point, the weather sufficiently improved for the meeting to transfer to the cemetery to inspect the damaged headstone. Members considered that the headstone had been left in a safe and respectful manner and felt that it would be wrong to interfere with the stone by requesting a temporary repair. As the Council holds no information on the next of kin, it was agreed that a further letter should be left on the grave and all the information held on file until such time as contact is made by the owners and to advise the contractor accordingly.

039    DATE OF NEXT MEETING Saturday, 17 April 2004 in the Cemetery.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 11.30am.