APPENDIX E (i)
No 1
(Streetscene)
Service Plan
For The
Cemeteries and Churchyards
2007/08
INTRODUCTION
1.
The Council are responsible for providing a caring and sympathetic burial
service which involves working with bereaved relatives and families, funeral
directors and memorial masons. The Council is also responsible through its
Grounds Maintenance Team for maintaining the grounds of the following
cemeteries and churchyards:
Cemeteries
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Fareham Cemetery (Wickham Road)
Crofton Cemetery
Holly Hill Cemetery
St Pauls Cemetery
St Johns Cemetery
St Peters Cemetery (Garden of remembrance)
Posbrook Cemetery
Roman Grove Cemetery
Churchyards
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2.
St Peter’s and St Paul’s Churchyard
St Mary’s Churchyard (Open Space)
St Paul’s Churchyard
Crofton Churchyard
St Peter’s Churchyard
The Council are responsible for the repair and maintenance of two public clocks
(Fareham and Portchester) and the war memorials at:
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Fareham
Portchester Precinct.
Sarisbury Green.
Shore Road, Warsash.
Stubbington.
Victory Hall, Warsash.
Titchfield.
Service Objectives
3.
The objectives of the service are as follows:
a) Manage cemeteries and specified churchyards to create attractive and tranquil
surroundings.
b) Repair, maintain and clean publicly owned clocks and war memorial by
conducting reactive maintenance, implementing planned maintenance via the
capital programme and arranging for an annul clean of all war memorials prior
to remembrance Sunday.
Scope of Service
4.
The Cemeteries service is responsible for the upkeep of eight cemeteries and
five churchyards in the borough. The provision of Cemeteries is a statutory
service. This service not only includes the maintenance of the cemetery
grounds but also the provision of an efficient and sympathetic burial service to
the residents of Fareham. The unit works closely with funeral directors and
stone masons to ensure that matters relating to burials can be dealt with in an
sensitive manner
5.
The service is responsible for the upkeep of two public clocks (Fareham and
Portchester) and seven war memorials.
Key Drivers
6.
The following outlines the key drivers on the Cemetery service
o There is at present no statutory requirement on any public authority or
private undertaking to make available a place for burial. However there is a
statutory right, by section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act
1984 that states local authorities are required to make suitable
arrangements for the burial or cremation of those who have died in their
area if it appears to the Authority that no suitable arrangements for the
disposal of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the
authority
o Burial Authority general powers of management, regulation and control of
cemeteries are determined in the Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977
(LACO)
o NAMM regulations for the installation of memorials – Improving the
standards of work undertaken by Memorial Masons when installing
memorials in cemeteries
o E-delivery requirement for online applications for burials, memorials and
their payment.
o Health & Safety issues regarding the upkeep and maintenance of graves
and headstones.
o There is no statutory obligation to maintain war memorials; however the
Home Office have prepared Code of Practice for those organisations who
are the custodians of these heritage items. The Council maintains the war
memorials within the borough as a mark of respect for those who gave
lives in the two world wars and other conflicts.
SERVICE OBJECTIVES
7.
The cemetery and churchyard contributes to the following corporate objectives:
Corporate Objective
PROTECTING AND ENHANCING OUR ENVIRONMENT
Desired Outcome for local people
The built heritage and natural environment of the Borough is conserved and
enhanced for local people and future generations.
Service Objective
Processes
Repair, maintain and clean publicly
owned clocks and war memorials
Reactive Maintenance - Repair and
maintain war memorials and clocks as
required.
Planned Maintenance – Conduct planned
work via the capital programme as
required.
Cleaning – Cleaning of war memorials
prior to remembrance Sunday.
Desired Outcome for local people
Well managed public spaces and coastal areas
Service Objective
Processes
Manage cemeteries and specified
Grounds maintenance – Ensure that the
churchyards to create attractive and grounds within cemeteries and
tranquil surroundings
churchyards are maintained to a high
standard at all times.
Burial Service – Ensure that all contact
with funeral directors, memorial masons
and grieving relatives is undertaken in a
professional and sympathetic manner.
Record Keeping - To maintain accurate
records to ensure that future enquiries by
families can be undertaken with
confidence.
Health and safety – Ensure regular
inspections and monitoring of memorials
takes place.
SERVICE ACHIEVEMENTS
8.
This section of the service plan describes the key achievements for the
Cemetery and Churchyard for the last three years.
Manage cemeteries and specified churchyards by creating attractive and
tranquil surroundings
a) Renew cemetery regulations approved. (05/06)
b) Introduction of legal transfers for grave ownership (05/06)
c) On-line search facility on the internet to assist with family history research
(05/06)
d) Restoration of gates at Holly Hill Cemetery (05/06)
e) Cemeteries at Holly Hill, Fareham, Crofton and Roman Grove resurveyed and
new plans produced to ensure accuracy of information (05/06)
f) Making safe of dangerous memorials at St Mary’s Churchyard (06/07)
g) Restoration of entrance gates, railings and walls at Crofton Cemetery (06/07).
h) Memorial inspections undertaken in Roman Grove and Holly Hill Cemeteries
(06/07)
i) New driveway and turning area in Crofton Cemetery (06/07)
j) Restoration of two collapsing tombs at St Peters and St Paul’s Churchyard.
Grant received fro £1059. (06/07)
k) Resurfacing of main drive in Roman Grove Cemetery (06/07)
The built heritage and natural environment of the Borough is conserved
and enhanced for local people and future generations.
l) Structural stabilisation of Fareham War Memorial completed in 2002.
m)Full restoration on Fareham War Memorial completed in 2004, with all
commemorative plaques replaced.
PERFORMANCE TABLES
9.
This section of the service plan provides a summary of all local and national
performance indicators for the Cemeteries and Churchyard service. The
information provides a backward look at performance for the previous year (i.e.
year ended 31st March 2006) and a forward plan for performance for the next
three years.
10. The information is also presented in a table form and uses the following
symbols to aid comparison.
Direction of Travel
11. This column compares actual figures for 2004/05 and 2005/06 and uses the
following symbols to indicate the relative performance for 2005/06.



= Improved
= No Change
= Worse
Performance Standard
12. This column compares Actual performance with the Min Std and Target for
2005/06 and uses the following symbols to indicate the relative performance
standard:



= Good (i.e. better than Target).
= Acceptable (i.e. better than Min Std).
= Poor (i.e. worse than Min Std).
13. Comments are provided where appropriate to explain reasons for poor
performance.
Service Objective 1 – Manage cemeteries and specified churchyards by creating attractive and tranquil surroundings
Ref
P06_001
Performance Indicator
Net expenditure per head of population
2004/05
Actual
2005/06
Min Std
2005/06
Target
2005/06
Actual
Dir of
Travel
Perf Std
£1.46
£1.44
£1.32
£1.31


2006/07
Target
2007/08
Target
2008/09
Target
£1.44
TBC
TBC
Comment: This figure is likely to fluctuate due to the number of burials undertaken and the number of pre purchased graves made per year.
POSITION STATEMENT
Cemeteries and Churchyards
14. This section of the service plan reviews how well the Cemeteries service is
currently performing against a range of criteria and identifies, where
appropriate, issues that need to be addressed over the next three years. This
section provides the basis and justification for identifying and prioritising service
improvements.
15. At the end of March 2005 there were approximately 3200 spaces available
within the borough for burials. The largest number available are at Crofton
(1400) followed by Roman Grove (750), Fareham (500), Posbrook (500) and
Holly Hill (50). There is currently a shortage of cemetery space in the western
wards however an area of land has been set aside for an extension adjacent to
Roman Grove Cemetery, Portchester. Therefore as a borough we have
sufficient burial space, there just remains the fact that there is less choice for
residents in the Western Wards than for those in the East. At the Executive
meeting in April Members agreed to the investigation of acquiring additional
land in the Western Wards, including the possibility of land as part of the
Coldeast developments.
16. The Cemeteries Officer is a member of the Hampshire Cemetery Officer Group.
This provides opportunities for sharing of information and best practise. A
number of Councils (including Fareham) have worked together to administer a
Memorial Masons registration scheme the help to increase the standards of
memorials that are placed within the Council’s cemeteries.
17. The cemetery regulations have been updated and were approved by the
Executive in January 2006. Issues that were addressed included the transfer of
the exclusive right of burial, the memorial mason registration scheme and the
provision of clearer guidance to relatives.
18. Issues of safety have always been a major concern with regard to unstable
memorials, in recent years there have been a number of high profile cases
regarding injuries to visitors to cemeteries and churchyards. A seven year
programme of memorial inspections and repairs is currently being implemented.
Although much improvement work has been undertaken it has been a slow
process working within existing resources. Considerable paperwork and
research to find memorial owners has been one of the under estimated time
consuming aspects of the process.
19. Over the next few years refurbishment works to the cemetery infrastructure will
be focused upon. All footpaths and roadways have been inspected and a
programme of work has been identified. Refurbishment of railings and gates
has already commenced and will continue until all cemeteries metal work has
been completed.
20. A number of issues in relation to grounds maintenance have arisen, in the main
they relate to a) the increase in alleged damaged to curb stones by operators
hitting them with mowing machinery and b) the treatment of weeds, ivy and
sycamore suckers that require continual attention so that they do not interfere
with existing memorials. Discussions relating to grounds maintenance issues
can be found in the Public Spaces service plan.
21. A new search facility has been created and is available on the internet. This
allows members of the public from Fareham and all over the world to search the
burial database to find details of people who area buried in Fareham. Searches
can be made by date, name, or cemetery. This facility will save officer time
doing searches and will be available for the customer services centre to answer
enquiries to first point of contact. It is hoped that further improvements will
continue and that people will be able to locate a grave using a mapping facility
over the internet.
22. E-delivery needs to be further progressed with the future development of
accessing plans of cemeteries showing actual grave locations. This will enable
residents and visitors to the cemetery the option to print of a plan to assist them
in finding graves when attending the cemetery.
23. Concerns over a pending outbreak of Avian Flu is being taken seriously and at
the current time contingency plans are being drawn up in order that should an
outbreak occur then the Council will be able to continue to provide this critical
service.
Public Clocks and War Memorials
24. The public clocks and war memorials are subject to both reactive and planned
maintenance which ensures that they remain in good condition.
25. The information presented above has been used to identify and prioritise a
range of service improvements, which are listed in the following section.
SERVICE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Resp
Source
Priority
Performance Measure
Year
Min
Std
Target
Undertaking projects within the cemeteries to the
refurbish infrastructure such as footpaths, driveways,
railings and gates
Sue
Woodbridge
Risk
Reduction
Desirable
Priority improvement plan in
place.
Mar 09
TBC
TBC
Actions Required to Achieve Service
Improvement
Resp
Priority
Target
Date
Resource Implications
Implementing a three year programme of footpath and
roadway projects
Christine
Callaby
High
Mar 09
Existing staff resources, liaison with engineers Department
Resp
Source
Priority
Performance Measure
Year
Min
Std
Target
To reduce the risk to employees and members of the
public from falling memorials
Sue
Woodbridge
Risk
reduction
Desirable
Percentage of memorials
inspected per annum
Mar 08
20%
25%
Actions Required to Achieve Service
Improvement
Resp
Priority
Target
Date
Resource Implications
To undertake a programme of inspections of all
memorials in eight cemeteries
Christine
Callaby
High
On-going
Existing Staff resources supplemented contractors funded by
existing revenue budget
Undertake repairs identified during routine inspections
Christine
Callaby
High
On-going
Existing Staff resources supplemented contractors funded by
existing revenue budget
Service Improvement 1
Service Improvement 2
Resp
Source
Priority
Performance Measure
Year
Min
Std
Target
Reducing the time of the Cemetery Officer in
answering routine enquiries
Sue
Woodbridge
Increased
Efficiency
Desirable
Number of processes that can be
handled directly by the CSC
Apr 07
2
2
Actions Required to Achieve Service
Improvement
Resp
Priority
Target
Date
Resource Implications
Additional training of other employees especially the
CSC to assist in the future with routine enquiries
Callaby
Medium
April 8
Existing staff resources
Ensuring all cemetery plans showing burial plots are
available as a cartology layer
Christine
Callaby
Low
Apr 08
Existing staff resources
Process planning of two tasks are undertaken
Sue
Woodbridge
High
Dec 07
Existing staff resources
Resp
Source
Priority
Performance Measure
Min
Std
Target
Improved
Effectivene
ss
Desirable
The number of available burial
space has increased
Service Improvement 3
Service Improvement 4
To increase the number of available burial and
cremated remains plots throughout the borough.
Sue
Woodbridge
Year
Dec
2010
7%
10%
Actions Required to Achieve Service
Improvement
Resp
Priority
Target
Date
Resource Implications
Investigate opportunities for additional land for
cemetery use in the Western Wards
Christine
Callaby
Medium
Dec
2008
Liaison with the Planning Department is required
Develop a scheme for the land identified adjacent
Roman Grove Cemetery as a new cemetery extension
Christine
Callaby
Low
Dec
2009
Existing Staff resources supplemented by agency staff funded by
existing revenue budget
Implement the cemetery extension project
Christine
Callaby
Low
Mar 2011
Capital funding in excess of £100,000+
APPENDIX 1 – FINANCIAL SUMMARY
BUDGET 2007/08
Cemeteries and Churchyards
TOTAL
Gross
Expenditure
£
316,900
Gross
Income
£
152,000
Net
Expenditure
£
164,900
316,900
152,000
164,900