Grave Maintenance Scheme Terms and Conditions

Location of the Grave

The client is required to provide the section plot number and names on the gravestone.

The administrator arranges a mutual time to meet the client so that the grave plot can be identified.

When the Client is unable to provide the plot number or meet the team, the client will arrange for the Cemetery Office to mark the grave and confirm with the Administrator that this has been done and provide them with the required information.

Only once the plot location has been confirmed can any quotation be carried out.

Accessing the Grave

The team & Administrator will access the grave plot and work out an estimate of the cost of preparing the plot as well as an image of the site. If the work cannot be carried out the Administrator will pass on to the client the reason why the work cannot be undertaken.

The Administrator will provide the client with written confirmation of the costs and work required, on receiving payment from the client the Administrator will provide the team with a copy of the Grave Maintenance Scheme Sheet so that the work can commence.

If the job is held in a waiting list the Grave Maintenance Scheme Sheet will be held in a pending file until the job can be started, the client will be advised they are held in a waiting list with and given an approximate date the work could be started, once the team provides a start date the Administrator will request payment from the client, once payment has been received the team will be advised that they can start the work.

The team will plan the work into their working schedule and ensure the work is completed. On completion of the work the Administrator will provide the client an image of the finished grave.

Annual Maintenance

For the clients that require the annual maintenance, once payment has been received from the client the Grave Maintenance Scheme Sheet will be added to the Works File and the client will be advised in which months the grave will be raked and cleaned.

The annual grave maintenance scheme runs from October to September and our volunteers visit the graves in the scheme during December, March, June and September and currently costs £28.00 for the year (correct as at July 2021), if the original work on the grave is completed part way through the year and that years annual grave maintenance has already started the administrator will advise the client which month will be the first visit and payment will be made pro rata £7.00 per visit (correct as at July 2021).

During October the client will be contacted by the Administrator for renewal of the Annual Maintenance contract if the client would like to continue with the scheme for the following 12 months, once payment has been made the Grave Maintenance Scheme Sheet will be updated and issued back in the works file.

Note

As the Friends of Darwen Cemetery is run by volunteers, we may decide to limit the number of graves in the scheme.

Health & Safety

For health and safety reasons on some occasions we may decide not to take a grave in to the Grave Maintenance Scheme, this could be due to the location of the grave, if Japanese Knotweed is present in the immediate vicinity, if the headstone / monument on the grave is required to be made safe beyond our capabilities.

FODC JULY 2021