Do you own a family grave or headstone in Bingham Cemetery off The Banks or at St Marys & All Saints Churchyard?
Please take a few moments to read this information. It is aimed to help you understand why it is necessary for the council to carry out safety inspections on family memorials to ensure a safe environment in our cemeteries to visitors and staff.
Do you know anyone who visits a cemetery or owns a memorial? If you do, please advise them to read this information.
Why are we testing memorials?
Over the past five years there have been several accidents to members of the public in cemeteries across the country, several have been fatal.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) want councils to inspect memorials at least once every five years, making safe those that fail the inspection process.
This guidance has been developed by a sub-group of the Burial and Cemeteries Advisory Group, which advises the Ministry of Justice on all aspects of burial law.
The sub-group represented burial ground operators, memorial masons and cemetery managers as well as the Health and Safety Executive.
The insurance industry and the Local Government Employers were also consulted.
Burial ground operators should have systems in place to control the risks from memorials to their employees, contractors, friends’ groups, volunteers and members of the public.
All memorials fitted after April 2004 must comply with National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) Code of Practice.
We appreciate that testing and making safe memorials temporarily may cause upset to bereaved families, but our priority must be the safety of those people visiting cemeteries.
How do we plan on testing?
The first part of the test is a visual inspection to identify the type of memorial and its condition this will be carried out by a qualified memorial testing body.
What do we do if we find a problem?
- Warning Signs will be placed on or near any memorial found to be unstable
- The memorial may be laid down, only if necessary.
Who is responsible for the safety of a memorial?
Responsibility in the first instance rests with the grave purchaser, or the stonemason or the person who puts the memorial up.
What do you do if you are advised that your memorial is unsafe?
We understand that this may be upsetting for you and apologise for any distress it may cause.
If your memorial has been subject to action to make it safe and/or a warning notice attached, you can choose too either:
- Have the memorial repaired by a Registered Memorial Stonemason
- You can arrange for the memorial to be laid down by a Registered Memorial Mason
- If you choose to have your memorial repaired, then the documents required will be completed by your memorial stonemason.
Do not attempt to repair or remove memorials yourself. Only approved memorial masons should carry out this kind of work to make sure safety standards are complied with.
Please be aware that cemeteries are potentially dangerous places. Visitors to cemeteries should keep to footpaths, avoid touching any memorials and ensure that children are always supervised.