Closed churchyards

When a churchyard is full and there is no room for further interments, or this is about to be the case, the PCC may apply for the churchyard to be closed to further burials. Before doing so the PCC should consider the other options available to it:

Re-use areas in the churchyard, particularly where burials have not taken place for 100 years or more and there are no extant memorials present.
Acquire an extension area, ideally adjacent to the existing churchyard or close by.

If no other option appears suitable, and the PCC wishes to have the churchyard declared closed to future burials, an application may be made for this to the Ministry of Justice using the Application Form available online, which includes guidance notes on the consultations which should be undertaken. Once the churchyard has been closed to future burials no further burials may take place there unless a grave space had been reserved prior to the closure and this was noted in the closure order.

The interment of cremated remains may be permitted either in the closure order itself, or by the grant of a faculty for this purpose. Following the closure of the churchyard to new burials, the PCC may wish to transfer responsibility for maintenance of the churchyard to the local authority. In the first instance this will be the parish or town council, but in urban areas the responsibility may be transferred directly to the district or unitary authority. Responsibility is transferred by service of a notice under s215 of the Local Government Act 1972.

In the case of a notice served on a parish or town council, they may within three months elect to pass the responsibility up to their district council. PCCs should consult with the relevant local authority before transferring responsibility for maintenance and repairs, and should note that the local authority may maintain the churchyard to a different standard than the PCC’s previous practice.