The City of London Corporation has agreed to increase most of its cemetery and crematorium fees by four per cent as it looks to achieve a ‘break-even position for the service’. This undertaking means the cost of a Sunday cremation will go from £1,726 to £1,795 and an adult’s private lawn burial from £1,884 to £1,963.
At the higher end, a private constructed vault is to be hiked by almost £4,000 to £46,425. New memorial garden leases are to see a bigger jump of eight per cent, which a Corporation report states is due to ‘a rise in raw material costs’.
The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is located not in the Square Mile but in Newham. Opened in 1856, it is a Grade-I listed site and occupies 200 acres. Those wishing to be buried there do not need any connections to the City or particular religious beliefs.
Corporation members sitting on the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee were recommended by officers to approve the increases to cemetery and crematorium fees due to rising costs in the service. The new charging structure is expected to bring in an additional £240,000 in a bid to meet ‘increased overheads’.
The committee paper reads: “We do not envisage that this increase will affect our market share due to the level of service provided and improvements to our cremation chapel offers and the general vista of the grounds, implemented throughout 2024 and the increases that will be made by our local competitors.”
At Tuesday morning’s meeting (January 7), Graham Holmes, Assistant Director Environment, reiterated the proposed pricing is to cover rising costs such as inflation and salary expenditure. He added the eight per cent increase is only reflected in new memorial garden installations, with prices for the likes of roses and shrubs having ‘really, really gone through the roof’.
“There has been no increase on the gardens for the last few years, and it’s just the right time to adjust that,” he said. There were no questions from members, with the committee voting to agree the new fees. They will be implemented from April this year.
As well as a range of burial and cremation options the corporation offers services including webcasting and plaques. The fees were similarly increased in last year’s annual review, and the corporation said it expects other local councils to bump their costs in 2025 by a similar amount.
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