Cemeteries & Streetscene Related Fees and Charges
Renfrewshire Council · 24 May 2023
Back to Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board — 24 May 2023 and its agenda
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1 _________________________________________________________________ To: Infrastructure, Land & Environment Policy Board On: 24 May 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure __________________________________________________________________ Heading: Cemeteries & Streetscene Related Fees and Charges ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Council has previously agreed the financial sustainability and outlook reports presented to Council, setting out the scale of the short and medium-term financial challenge facing the Council. 1.2 This report sets out as part of the Council’s financial sustainability strategy charges for Cemetery and Streetscene services. The intention is for these charges to become effective from 1st June 2023. _________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board: 2.1 Approves the cemetery charges set out as set out in section 3 of the report 2.2 Approves the streetscene charges as set out in section 4 of the report ___________________________________________________________________
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2 3. Background Information Cemeteries 3.1 The Council undertakes approximately 550 interments within Renfrewshire cemeteries each year. This equates to around 26% of deaths annually in Renfrewshire using Council cemeteries for the burial of either coffins or cremated remains in caskets. 3.2 The Council has invested over £1M of capital funding to deliver improvements across the cemetery estate over the last 5 years, including drainage work and road and pathway repairs. 3.3 The annual cost to deliver the Cemeteries service currently stands at over £1.2M, with an improved specification in the day-to-day operation introduced since the last changes in the pricing structure agreed. This includes Memorial Safety checks, the provision of cyclical maintenance of roads and pathways as appropriate, and an enhanced winter maintenance regime. Burial Fees & Charges 3.4 The Council charges for burial and lair sales to residents of Renfrewshire are currently amongst the lowest in Scotland. The service proposes the cemetery charges as set out in the table below. This brings the Council’s charges in line with the Scottish average charges for burial fees, with these proposed charges. Service Proposed Cost New Lair (Renfrewshire Resident) £999.50 New Lair (Non-Renfrewshire Resident) £2,998.50 Coffin Burial (Renfrewshire Resident) £913.00 Coffin Burial (Non-Renfrewshire Resident £2,739.00 Cremated Remains (Renfrewshire Resident) £258.00 Cremated Remains (Non- Renfrewshire Resident) £774 Headstone Foundations 3.6 There is a statutory requirement under Health & Safety legislation for a suitable foundation to be in place for a headstone prior to its erection. The Council Cemeteries team currently offers a service to provide headstone foundations, along with stone masons who erect memorial headstones. The memorial safety inspections have shown many of the headstone failures are due to the condition of the foundations. The proposal is that the Council undertakes all future headstone foundations within the Council cemetery estate to ensure foundations are constructed to a suitable standard. The Council proposes a charge of £250 per foundation headstone.
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3 Service Proposed Cost Headstone Foundations £250 Woodland Burials 3.7 Renfrewshire has one woodland burial ground at Lochwinnoch Cemetery. This offers an alternative interment option for those wishing a more ecological burial. Operating in a different way to traditional cemeteries in that there is no headstone to mark the grave. The proposal is therefore to create a memorial sited at the entrance to allow families to affix a plaque to the memorial of their loved one. The proposal is to introduce a charge of £230 for each plaque to be erected. Service Proposed Cost Plaque for Woodland Burials £230 4. Land Management 4.1 StreetScene is responsible for maintaining the open space areas which belong to Renfrewshire Council. In addition to maintaining the areas in Council ownership, the Council receives requests to undertake land maintenance on land not owned by the Council. The following rates per hour have been proposed should a landowner request the Council to do work on their land. Activity Rate (£) per hour Grass-Cutting £35.00 Arboriculture £50.00 Vegetation £40.00 __________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The proposals will generate additional income for the Council. 2. HR & Organisational Development - None. 3. Community/Council Planning – None 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and
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4 human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement - None 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. Cosla Policy Position - Not applicable. 13. Climate Risk - None _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Background Paper- None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gavin Hutton, Head of Operations and Infrastructure Email: gavin.hutton@renfrewshire.gov.uk