Cost of dying increases in Devon

Especially if you don't want to share your grave

Two areas of Devon are seeking to increase the amount they charge for burials, potentially pushing the cost of dying in the county higher.

East Devon wants to raise fees by 10 per cent from £491 to £540, while the price for an exclusive right of burial within a plot will be hiked by the same percentage, rising from £870 to £957.

If you don’t pay for exclusivity, you may find yourself with unexpected company.

For an extra £200, you can extend your rights for a further 10 years.

That’s a bargain burial rate compared with neighbouring Mid Devon, where the current fee of £1,460 looks set to rise by just over two per cent to £1,495 in April if draft figures are approved.

To have exclusive rights to a burial plot with a memorial stone for 30 years in Mid Devon is going up by six per cent from £1,580 to £1,675.

In Exeter, the burial fee is currently £1,397, but it’s doubled if you want to be in your grave alone for 30 years. These fees are likely to rise, too, but proposed new levels won’t be published until March.

Where the burial fee and the exclusive rights fee are separate, like in Mid Devon, East Devon and Exeter, both need to be paid if you don’t want to share with any old body.

In Mid Devon, once exclusive rights have been paid on a plot, if further burials in the same plot are possible, then only a burial fee applies when the next coffin comes along.

A spokesperson said plots can’t be reserved in advance, stating “there must be an imminent burial due to take place”.

Plymouth charges £1,420 for a grave with exclusive rights, while a burial with no exclusive rights is £935, but these could also rise in April.

Some councils have different rates for residents and non-residents.

Torridge District Council charges £1,181 for an adult’s coffin to be buried, but this rises to £1,575 for non-residents, while in North Devon, the rate for a single burial is £1,408 but half that at £704 for residents.

Both may consider increasing these in the new financial year.

The cost of burying cremated remains is far less in all area.

The rising charges come as councils look to find ways to increase their incomes.

A whole range of charges are likely to rise, including parking charges, the amount it costs to rent a football pitch or beach hut, or to film on council-owned land.

A government grant for rural areas that went to district councils and Devon County Council was cut last year, and councils are facing higher costs from the forthcoming increase in National Insurance, which makes workers more expensive to employ.

The government has said it will guarantee that no council will see a reduction in their core spending power in the next financial year, after taking into account any increase in council tax.