Burial fees to rise by 13pc

Burial fees at cemeteries in Staffordshire which have climbed rapidly in the last four years will jump a further 13 per cent from January, under plans revealed today.

The proposed increase at sites in Stafford and Stone – almost three times the rate of inflation – comes as a 12,000-plot cemetery in Great Wyrley looks set to be given the go ahead by councillors.

If agreed, the fee for a plot will rise from £754 to £850 within weeks. Since 2007 the charge will have gone up a staggering 83 per cent, from £464.

Meanwhile members of South Staffordshire Council look set to approve a new cemetery in Upper Landywood Lane, Great Wyrley, easing the shortage of burial space available in the county.

The cabinet is due to consider a report recommending approval for the plans on November 29.

Proposed rises in bereavement charges in Stafford will be debated by the borough council on the same date. As well as burial fees at cemeteries in Tixall Road, Stafford, and off the A34, Stone, cremation, funeral and chapel charges will also increase under the plans.

Use of the chapel will go up more than a fifth from £62 to £75, Saturday funerals will climb to £477 from £426.50 and cremation will cost seven per cent more at £475.

Stafford Borough Council spokesman Will Conaghan said the authority's bereavement costs were among the lowest nationwide.

But rising energy bills for facilities such as the crematorium and chapel buildings had stretched budgets, he added.

"We do all we can to keep those costs down without reducing an award-winning bereavement service to people in what is nearly always a difficult time," he said.

"Unfortunately outside factors like increased energy prices have an impact on the cost of running our service."