It is possible to bury a loved one in your garden and the law
is contained in the Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880 although there are still certain
requirements that must be met. A person
who knows the circumstances of the death and has a lawful certificate of the
cause of death must first register a death with their local Register Office.
It is legal to be buried on your own property if you own it
in its entirety and the burial plot is far enough from a ditch or water source
to meet Environment Agency rules. The
Government explain on their website at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cemeteries-and-burials-prevent-groundwater-pollution#human-home-burials
that if you need help understanding the requirements then you will need to
contact the Environment Agency. People
are also able to find further information on private land burials on the Natural
Death Centre website.
You do not need planning permission but the person
responsible must also be in possession of a certificate of authority for burial
(consent from the local authority to enable the burial to take place) and
create a simple burial register to include details such as name, address, date
of birth and date of death and the place of burial. A plan also needs to
be made and kept with the register, showing the exact location of the grave.
A body comes within the definition of "clinical
waste" and as such cannot be disposed of except under the provisions of
the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and the Environment Protection Act 1990. A
licensed operator is usually needed but a local authority may waive the
requirement in special circumstances. Remember it is a criminal offence to
dispose of "controlled waste" otherwise than in accordance with the
Acts.
There has been coverage in the news in recent years
regarding garden burials. For example, in
2014, Kirstie Allsopp, best known as co-presenter of Channel 4 show ‘Location,
Location, Location’, buried her mother in her parent’s back garden in
accordance with her wishes and most recently, you may have seen on the internet
that a property in Leeds recently went on the market, but the previous owner
was buried in the garden! The previous
owner, who had lived in the property for all of his life, had told his family
that his last wish was to be buried in the back garden. The property, advertised by estate agents,
notes “Please be aware this property is being sold by family members as part of
a relative’s estate… it was the deceased’s wishes to be buried in the garden as
he was born and died in the house. This wish has been carried out and the
property will be sold as is”.
People might also wish to draw a link to the recent ITV
drama ‘Finding Alice’, starring Keeley Hawes.
In the show, grieving wife Alice looks to bury her husband Harry in the
garden and carries out the wish.
However, as portrayed in all of the scenarios above, an
important consideration is when the property changes hands in the future as you
may want to consider the impact of garden graves when you or your family come
to try and sell your property! If your
wish is to be buried in the garden or on private land then do make sure you
have followed all of the correct protocols and keep safe any documents relating
to it to ensure that your wishes can be met.