Cemeteries customer care

What you can expect from us:

Funerals: we will

• Meet with you to offer help and advice if you are planning a funeral, showing you the different grave options and facilities that are available. Please make an appointment by contacting the cemetery office. You will be met personally by a member of staff. A private area will be offered at the Cemetery Office to discuss your needs.
• Provide services which meet with the Charter for the Bereaved. The Charter, of which we are members, helps to ensure all funerals are dignified and personal.
• Have memorial services to remember all those buried in the cemeteries. We will display the dates on the cemetery notice boards, in the newsletter, and on the website.
• Meet the legal responsibilities relating to the management and provision of cemeteries.

Cemetery Grounds: we will

• Display our opening times at entrances, in our service information booklet, and on the website.
• Open the cemeteries every day of the year in order that members of the public may visit (including Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
• Ensure the grounds are kept neat and tidy. We will make available our cemetery grounds maintenance standards.
• Ensure there is easy access to chapels, toilets and offices. Chapels are fitted with an induction loop and have appropriate spaces for wheelchairs.

Cemetery Grounds Maintenance Standards: we will

• Cut the grass on the Lawn Sections every 21 days during the growing season.
• The area between lawn headstones will be strimmed every 4 weeks.
• The roses will be pruned by the end of February.
• Graves will be levelled and seeded in Autumn and Spring.
• The grass on Traditional Sections will be cut every 4 weeks during the growing season.
• The grass on Children's Sections will be cut every 21 days during the growing season.
• The Gardens of Remembrance will be cut every 21 days during the growing season.
• The Natural Burial Area will be cut and collected at the beginning of April and the end of August.  An additional cut may be necessary to provide a grave for burial.
• After grass cutting has been completed, any cuttings on the paths will be blown onto the grassed areas.
• All shrubs, trees and hedges will be pruned and cut back in accordance with their seasonal requirements.
• Leaf clearance will be completed by February.
• During times of adverse weather conditions, we will prioritise the following sections: Childrens, Traditional sections where recent burials have taken place; Lawn Sections; Gardens of Rest; front entrances.

Memorials: we will

• Process memorial permit applications within 10 days. All memorial work must be to the National Association of Memorial Mason's Code of Working Practice, and meet cemetery regulations.
• Have a programme of work to check and make sure memorials are not dangerous.
• Contact owners, where details are known, to let them know if their memorial needs to be made safe.

Staff and administration: we will

• Respond to enquiries, ensuring we meet with the Council's Customer Service Standards. We have a 24 hour answer phone when the office is closed or members of staff are helping a customer. We will answer your call within two hours, or, if the message was left when the office was closed, by 10.00am the next working day.
• Provide information leaflets, booklets and prices of the different services available and post these within three days, if requested.
• Keep our website pages up to date.
• Produce an annual newsletter and post it to all those who have asked to be on our mailing list.
• Consult with our customers and use the feedback to develop and improve our services.
• Publish annually our performance against our service standards.

What you can do to help us, please

• Put used watering cans next to the water taps.
• Use the cemetery bins provided for litter.
• Do not scatter or bury cremated remains in the cemetery without permission.
• Do not use ceramic, glass vases or jars (they can break easily and cause harm to visitors and staff).
• Do not plant or place items outside your grave space.
• Do not drive on grass verges.
• Do not bring dogs into the cemeteries as there is a dog control order in place.
• Let us know if you change your address.

Charter Mark Award

"Putting the Customer First. Promoting choice, flexibility and innovation in a public service".

The Cemetery Service has been awarded the prestigious Charter Mark award. By reaching the required standard, the service has shown that we put our customers first, and go that extra mile.