Cemeteries
Burials
The cemeteries at Eastwood and Kimberley are currently the only two that have a Garden of Remembrance, in which families can scatter cremated remains (ashes).
All new interments take place in the cemeteries' lawn section. In such areas, the planting of flowers, shrubs etc. around graves is not permitted, but flowers and wreaths are, so long as they are placed immediately in front of the memorial or marker. Anything outside this area will be relocated.
For a new burial interment, the Council provide a temporary grave marker, which will remain until the memorial is provided, at which point it is removed. All floral tributes will be removed 14 days from the date of interment in summer and 21 days in winter – sooner if they have significantly deteriorated or died.
The pre-purchase of graves was discontinued several years ago and, to maximise space and ensure equal and fair interment rights are maintained, there is a policy of only using the next grave in line for each new interment, It is not possible to select the location of a grave unless it is where two or more sections are in use at any one time and any of the ‘next in line’ graves available may be selected.
All the cemeteries have separate areas for the burial of cremated remains, although existing ‘full’ graves may be used for either the interment or scattering of cremated remains.
Beeston cemetery is the only cemetery within Broxtowe which has a Chapel that can be used for the funeral service before an interment. The chapel seats approximately 60 people and has electrical points to enable a portable music player to be used, you can also hold a service at Bramcote Crematorium in either of the two Chapels can be booked out for Chapel Hire only, which offers numerous services times, with improved facilities and parking.
Should you wish to view the cemetery or crematorium chapels before booking, please contact the cemetery's office on 0115 9173338 or 0115 9173630 to arrange an appointment.
War Graves
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all Service Memorials that are located in the Council’s cemeteries.
Any damaged or poorly maintained memorials can be reported to Bereavement Services or directly to the CWGC.
Closed Church Yards
Broxtowe Borough Council is currently responsible for the grounds maintenance of 11 closed churchyards across the district:
- St. James Church, Brinsley.
- St. Mary’s Church, Eastwood.
- St. Mary’s Church, Greasley.
- St. Helens Church, Trowell.
- Holy Trinity Church, Kimberley.
- St. Johns Church, Beeston.
- St. Helens Church, Stapleford.
- St. Michael’s Church, Bramcote.
- All Saints Church, Strelley Village.
- St. Catherine Church, Cossall.
- St. Patricks Church, Nuthalll.
Grounds Maintenance
Broxtowe Borough Council has a grounds maintenance team which looks after the cemeteries all year round. After the initial interment has taken place, the cemeteries team are responsible for:
The removal of wreaths.
The Levelling, seeding and the top-up of graves.
Clearing of paths.
Cutting of the trees and hedges.
Emptying of the bins.
Grass cutting in the cemeteries starts the first week in April and continues regularly until October.
The maintenance of all cemeteries and graves is the responsibility of the Council.
Even when ‘Exclusive Rights of Burial have been granted’ the ownership of the land remains with the Council and members of the public and grave-rights owners are not permitted to maintain graves themselves or plant shrubs/bulbs in the ground. Any such items will be removed.
Memorial Saftey Testing
Councils have an overriding duty to take, as far as reasonably practicable, measures to prevent injury from unstable memorials. Councils will give public notice in advance of carrying out a general memorial safety testing programme.
On a revolving five-year assessment program we carry out memorial safety testing within one of our cemeteries or closed church yards for Broxtowe Borough Council once a year and record any risk posed by individual unstable memorials.
After completing the assessment, we have several options to ensure the safety of the memorials.
- Contact the Individual Owners regarding the memorial.
- Make the memorial safe by laying down, but only to prevent a genuine hazard to health and safety that cannot be remedied by temporary support.
- A temporary support or warning notice may be added to the memorial.
- A temporary stabilisation for a reasonable period will allow owners to repair the memorials.
Action after a memorial has been made safe.
- The principal responsibility for maintaining a memorial in a safe condition is that of the owner.
- In the absence of maladministration in the testing process, there is no obligation on a council to meet the cost of remedial work.
- Re-fixing, where necessary, should be carried out to an approved standard.