Trimdon Foundry Parish
Details of Deaf Hill cemetery Memorial Management and Safety Policy
1. Purpose
This policy has been produced to set out Trimdon Foundry Parish Council’s position with regards to memorial safety. The policy provides an overview of the actions that will be taken to minimise risk to users of Deaf Hill Cemetery.
2. Background
Historically, there have been a number of accidents in cemeteries around the UK, some of which have resulted in fatalities, due to memorials being unsafe. Whilst the memorials are the responsibility of the registered grave owner, Trimdon Foundry Parish Council has a responsibility to ensure that its sites are safe for both staff to work in and for the public to visit.
3. Memorial Inspections
All memorials over 24” in height will be inspected by trained staff at least once during a rolling 3-year period to assess their safety. This will be done through both a visual assessment and a basic hand test, to determine if there is movement in the memorial and to what extent.
Once inspected, each memorial will fall into one of three categories, detailed as follows:
♦ Category 1 – memorial is unsafe, poses a risk and requires immediate attention to make safe
♦ Category 2 – memorial is unsafe, but there are minor concerns and it should be reassessed in 12 months to ensure it has not deteriorated further
♦ Category 3 – memorial is safe and should be re-inspected in 3 years as part of the next round of inspections
4. Record of Inspections
Staff undertaking the inspections will record the details of every memorial and an assessment of its safety using the above categories. These details will include:
♦ Date of inspection
♦ Name of Inspector
♦ Plot number
♦ Category of memorial (1,2 or 3)
♦ Details of any action taken
5. Actions Post Inspection
Should a memorial be identified as category 1, immediate action will need to be taken to make the memorial temporarily safe or cordon it off until permanent repairs can be made by the grave owner. These actions may include:
♦ Laying the memorial flat – where a memorial can be laid flat so as not to cause a new trip hazard
♦ Staked and Banded – the memorial will be fastened tight to a wooden post which will act as a temporary support. The stake and band will be re-inspected every 12 months to ensure neither have deteriorated.
♦ Monolith Conversion – this involves digging out a depth approximately one third of the overall height of the memorial so that it can be sunk into the ground and made safe.
♦ Cordoned off – in some cases it may be necessary to cordon off a particular memorial
♦ Removal – in extreme cases it may be necessary to remove a memorial and place into storage if none of the above options are suitable.
All of the above are regarded as temporary fixes to reduce or remove the risk of a memorial causing harm and should not be seen as a permanent solution to deal with an unsafe memorial.
6. Informing Grave Owners
Where any action has been taken due to a memorial failing a safety inspection, Trimdon Foundry Parish Council will make every effort to contact the grave owner. However, if the grave owner is deceased or the last burial was over 50 years ago, no correspondence will be sent.
7. Grave Owners’ Responsibilities
The registered grave owner has a responsibility to ensure the memorial is made safe through being properly re-fixed to the current BS8415 standard and works must be undertaken by a qualified and BRAMM (British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons) registered Memorial Mason (or equivalent). Do it yourself repairs by families will not be permitted.
Should grave owners fail to take any action within a reasonable time period, then Trimdon Foundry Parish Council will seek to apply a semi-permanent solution to the memorial. This will involve either laying the memorial flat or monolith conversion or other suitable action.
8. Memorial Masons’ Responsibilities
In the event of any memorial failing an inspection that has been installed within the previous 6 years, we will contact the memorial mason directly to request repairs be made to ensure the memorial is fully compliant with BS8415. The stability guarantee of a memorial is the responsibility of the memorial mason and 6 years is the standard legal period that must be covered by the installation
Example Notices:
Page added 21st September 2026
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