Bristol mortuary could charge for delayed body collection

Storage of deceased persons at Flax Bourton Mortuary is paid for by local tax payers

Funeral directors could be charged for the delayed collection of bodies at a public mortuary.

There is mounting pressure on the mortuary at Flax Bourton due to a lack of space and longer average times between a person's death and funeral.

Bristol City Council said it would be the first local authority to introduce this type of charge.

The charge is expected to be between £100 and £200 per day. All fees will be used to maintain the mortuary.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, councillors heard the proposed by-law would introduce charges for each day the deceased person is stored at the mortuary beyond the three working days that follow the coroner's release date.

'Public mortuaries overrun'

Dee Riding, owner of Divine Ceremony Funeral Directors, said the by-law is really about highlighting how long people are being left at the public mortuary.

"I can understand in a way why they're bringing it in but it is going to have implications for smaller businesses particularly, but also larger businesses too," she said.

Ms Riding owns her own funeral home and said when bigger direct cremation companies do not have mortuaries, they rely on public facilities to store the deceased.

"Public mortuaries are overrun looking after people who actually should be with the companies who have taken instruction to care for them. That's the issue," Ms Riding continued.

The late fees will be used to maintain and operate the Flax Bourton mortuary

Investigations into unexplained or unnatural deaths that occur in the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset are all conducted at the Flax Bourton mortuary.

The service is carried out by the senior coroner for Avon and, along with storage, is paid for through local council tax in those areas.

Once the coroner has finished the investigation, a funeral director, normally employed by the family of the deceased, will pick up the body from the mortuary.

Where funeral directors do not have private mortuaries, or where those that do experience a busy period, the body must be stored properly until it can be collected.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: "The mortuary in Flax Bourton has limited space, and so we are taking steps to manage the pressure caused by more coroner's cases and an increase in the average time between a person's death and their funeral."

Need for leeway

Ms Riding said her business would not be heavily affected because she collects people very quickly.

"Most families want to know where their people are," she added.

However, she said with direct cremation rising, small businesses like hers would appreciate a little bit of leeway during busy periods.

A public consultation on the charge, which ended on 31 October, had 78 responses, with 69% of responders agreeing or strongly agreeing with charges being applied, according to a council report.

The proposed charges will come into effect on 1 April 2025, to allow time for funeral companies to find alternative mortuary space.

The fines will also apply to any other mortuaries that Bristol City Council may provide in the future.