Newark cemetery, on London Road, fees and charges to increase following Newark Town Council tax increase of 5%
Cemetery fees and charges could see an increase of £150 to £200 to help reduce the council’s financial ‘burden’.
At Newark Town Council extraordinary finance meeting, committee members agreed to increase council tax by 5%.
The lower rise in council tax compared to last year means that the council had to generate further revenue from other areas, including the cemetery, which will see an increase of £150 to £200 for all cemetery fees and charges.
It is estimated that it will generate between £66,000 and £85,000 additional income for the town.
For the 25/26 budget, the council has agreed to an estimation of £145,200 in income to be generated from cemetery general fees (£120,000) plinths and memorial tablets (£25,000), and deceased online (£200) — an online database of burials and cremations.
Following the 24/25 budget, the cemetery generated a total of £115,000, with £95,000 originating from general fees and £20,000 from plinths/memorial tablet.
The increase follows a consultation feedback in which the majority of respondents are supportive of Newark securing new burial land in the future, which will mean significant costs.
The existing cemetery on London Road is estimated to be six to seven years away from being at its capacity.
The acquisition of new land, securing planning approval, developing the site, and preparing it for use for burials is a costly process and can take years.
According to Newark Town Council, some respondents to consultation have stated that the cemetery should seek to fund itself where possible.
They are seeking to utilise the Cemetery revenue streams to help develop the service, both in the existing site and a potential new site, and the rise in cemetery fees is to minimise the dependency on the taxpayer for cemetery-related services and put more cost directly at the door of the service users.
Newark town clerk, Matthew Gleadell, said: “Cemetery Fees will be reviewed by the Council in March this year.
“At this point, no formal increase has been applied albeit the budget for the 25/26 financial year does anticipate a rise.
“Increases in fees, if agreed, will help towards the costs of providing burials.
“In recent consultation regarding a possible new Cemetery, a number of a respondents indicated that they believed that the Cemetery should be largely funded by those that wish to make use of it.
“Charges for burial services and income generated therefrom help to reduce the burden of council cooperating costs on the taxpayer.”