Burial charge rise 'not good', say residents

Maggie Clark says the council should have considered a staggered increase

A resident has said a planned increased to burial charges in a town in Rutland will be unaffordable for "a lot of people".

Maggie Clark, 67, says while she expected the increase to happen, such costs were not at the forefront of people's minds, and would come as a surprise when the worst happens.

Uppingham Town Council's finance committee moved ahead with proposals which would see the exclusive right of burial for a single grave increase from £255 to £335, among other charge increases.

The committee's chairman, councillor Trevor Colbourne, said the fees had remained static for 10 years and were below market rates.

Ms Clark told the BBC: "I have sort of been expecting that because everything else has gone up, so why wouldn't that?

"It's not good that it's going up and people are complaining about it, but I have already got it in my head.

"Personally I can afford that, a lot of people can't, so I have sympathy for them.

"If they are not expecting it and they are on just a state pension, it is not going to work for them."

Town councillors took the decision at a meeting on 30 October

Brian Matthews, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said people were struggling "day to day" and the rise would just be one more unfortunate cost.

The 86-year-old added the cost-of-living crisis made it a poor time for any price increase.

"It costs you more to flipping die than it does to be born, and it's getting ridiculous, when you think about the times we're living in," he said.

"People are struggling from day to day, never mind from year to year.

"Rents have gone up and then the families will have to find the money to pay this."

The price rise will only apply to cemeteries run by Uppingham Town Council, which include the London Road and Leicester Road sites.

Meanwhile James Holroyd, 31, said he was too young to worry about burial charges, and they had not ever crossed his mind.

"The council probably have their reasons [for the increase]," he said. "If they're good reasons, then that's great."

Mr Holroyd added the price rising by £80 would probably be concerning for some residents, especially when combined with anxieties over the new Budget.

In the town council's forecast for the 2024-25 financial year, it will have a budget deficit of £8,713.

'Enhancing council income'

Colbourne, from Uppingham Town Council, described the increases as "modest".

"Our town clerk looked at the fees in Oakham in particular, and other fees within Rutland, and we know from the data we're still significantly below our 'competitors'," he said.

"It's our view that [the increases] positively helps all residents, because in enhancing council income, that's going to ameliorate the general uplifts that you see in council tax."

In addition to the exclusive burial rights price going up, the interment fees, and other charges such as for headstones and flat stones will also rise.