Cemeteries
Arun District Council welcomes all visitors to our cemeteries and requests that the peace, dignity and reverence of these facilities are respected.
As members of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) our cemeteries are managed in a legal, sensitive and respectful way for all that have use of them. These are communal spaces for quiet reflection and remembrance.
In acknowledging our respect for those who use our cemeteries Arun District Council has adopted the principles of the ICCM’s ‘Charter for the Bereaved. Our Cemeteries Regulations.pdf [pdf] 461KB are written with the spirit of the Charter in mind.
Contact Information
The day to day management of service is undertaken by the Cemeteries Service.
Arun District Council
Cemeteries Service
Bognor Regis Town Hall
Clarence Road
Bognor Regis
PO21 1LD
Tel: 01903 737954
Email: cemeteries@arun.gov.uk
Office Hours
Monday to Thursday: 8.45am to 5.15pm
Fridays: 8.45am to 4.45pm
Burial Hours
Monday to Friday 9.00am-3.30pm
Burial Hours Winter (Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb)
Monday to Friday 9.00am-3.00pm (ashes only) 2.30pm (coffined burial)
Burial hours are subject to change and are dependent on the resources available at the time.
General Information
An Exclusive Right of Burial 2020.pdf [pdf] 9MB information leaflet sets outs the rights and responsibilities of owners, and what can be expected when owning the rights to a grave in the Council’s Cemeteries.
The Register of Burials and Cemetery maps are kept at Bognor Regis Town Hall. Searches may be requested, and extracts obtained from the register at a time agreed with the Cemeteries Service free of charge. A fee shall be payable if the Cemeteries Service is asked to undertake a search on the behalf of the enquirer.
Grave owners can update their records (name, address, etc.) by completing the following online form.
The Cemeteries Service will not undertake any instruction without it being in writing together with any necessary supporting documentation and the appropriate fee.
The Cemeteries Service is compliant with the Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977 and other relevant statutory instruments. Arun District Council as a Burial Authority, constituted under the Local Government Act 1972, is responsible for regulating and managing five cemeteries across the district. It is a lawful requirement of that Order to set out regulations to provide a safe and dignified environment for all visitors and provide the Council with the authority to undertake any task or instruction as necessary to ensure the continuing appropriate management of its cemeteries.
You can also obtain further information on Funeral practices, spreading ashes and caring for the environment from the Environmental Agency (external leaflet).
Please view our Privacy Notice which you can find on our Privacy Policy page.
Arun District Council Cemeteries
Bognor Regis Town Cemetery
Grounds Maintenance
The Council’s greenspace contractor Tivoli maintains the grounds of the five Council cemeteries as well as the following closed churchyards;
- St James, East Ham Rd, Littlehampton. BN17 7AN
- St John the Baptist, A24 by-pass, Findon. BN14 0RF
- St Mary, Church Street, Littlehampton. BN17 5EN
- St Mary, Vicarage Lane, East Preston, Littlehampton. BN16 2SP
- St Mary Magdalene, Bersted Street, Bognor Regis. PO22 9QE
- St Nicholas, Elmer Rd, Middleton-on-sea, Bognor Regis. PO22 6ET
- St Nicholas, London Road, Arundel. BN18 QAT
Some areas of the Council’s cemeteries may be left for habitat conservation which means you may see areas of long grass or wildflower meadows in older sections. Where this maintenance regime affects your access to a grave then we shall make sure it is accessible within 24 hours.
Hedge and shrub pruning typically take place between October-March.
Grounds maintenance staff are tasked with ensuring that the Cemeteries Regulations are enforced and so those items placed on graves which do not comply may be removed without warning.
Cemeteries Service Application Forms
Notices of Interment:
Application for the Notice of Interment in a grave.pdf [pdf] 151KB
Application for the Notice of interment in a grave - Additional owner.pdf [pdf] 84KB
Application for the Notice of Interment in Garden of Remembrance and Inscription on the Wall of Remembrance.pdf [pdf] 102KB
Application for Scattering in the Garden of Remembrance and Inscription on a Wall of Remembrance.pdf [pdf] 101KB
Application forms for the Exclusive Right of Burial and Exclusive Right to Erect a Memorial
Application for Lawn Grave Ownership.pdf [pdf] 153KB
Application for Traditional Grave Ownership.pdf [pdf] 153KB
Application for Cremated Remains Grave Ownership.pdf [pdf] 152KB
Application for Lawn Grave Memorial.pdf [pdf] 153KB
Application for Traditional Grave Memorial.pdf [pdf] 153KB
Application for a Memorial Permit.pdf [pdf] 142KB
Chapel Only Booking Form.pdf [pdf] 88KB
Transfer of Ownership
There will come a time when the ownership of the Exclusive Right of Burial needs to be transferred following the death of the owner.
The Transfer of Grave Ownership - flow chart.pdf [pdf] 517KB helps identify the correct and lawful path to a successful transfer.
There a several ways in which this can be undertaken as shown in the above flowchart and are as follows;
- A living owner may transfer the grave to any person and can do so by completing the Form of Assignment.pdf [pdf] 96KB . We will require proof of identity and address for both the current and proposed owners. We will only allow up to three owners at any one time.
- When someone dies and they leave an estate of sufficient value together with a Last Will & Testament then the ownership of the grave shall transfer to the Executor(s) of the estate named in the Will. We will need to see the original Court sealed ‘Grant of Probate’ and the Application for the Transfer of Ownership - Grant of Probate .pdf [pdf] 96KB form will need to be completed. If the Will specified beneficiaries then the Executor is responsible for passing the ownership of the Exclusive Right of Burial to the required person(s). To do so requires the completion of the Form of Assent.pdf [pdf] 101KB
- When someone dies and they leave an Estate of sufficient value but there is no Last Will & Testament then the Next of Kin can apply to the courts to become the Administrator of the Estate. In doing so the Next of Kin will receive a ‘Letter of Administration’ from the Court. We will need to see the Court sealed original and the Application for the Transfer of Ownership - Letters of Administration.pdf [pdf] 96KB form must be completed. The Administrator is responsible for passing the ownership of the Exclusive Right of Burial to the required person(s). To do so requires the completion of the Form of Assent.pdf [pdf] 101KB . In this situations all children of the deceased are equal owners to the burial rights.
- When someone dies and they leave an Estate of insufficient value for either Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration to be obtained then the transfer of ownership must be undertaken by making a Statutory Delaration.pdf [pdf] 99KB . This will need to be signed in the presence of a Magistrate or Commissioner of Oaths. Where a Will is available then the ownership is transferred to the Executor by completing a Statutory Delaration.pdf [pdf] 99KB . The Executor is then responsible for transferring the grave to the required person and is required to do so by using the ‘Form of Assent’. In these instances we will need to see the original or a certified copy of the Will.
- Where a number of persons have a right to ownership, but wish to vest the ownership in one person (or other variation) a Form of Renunciation.pdf [pdf] 110KB must be completed together with a Statutory Delaration.pdf [pdf] 99KB
Cemetery fees
Our fees and charges for the year 2021/22 can be found here: Arun District Council Fees & Charges 2021-2022 Printable.pdf [pdf] 1MB
Memorial Safety
The Council shall be undertaking Memorial Safety Inspections at Chalcraft Cemetery between November 2020 – November 2021.
The Council has a duty of care to ensure that memorials in its Cemeteries and Closed Churchyards under its responsibility are safe. Inspections of all memorials in Cemeteries are undertaken to ensure their stability in compliance with the Council’s Memorial Safety & Inspection Procedures and Cemeteries Regulations.
The Council tests the stability of memorials by hand using a force not greater than 25kg. All staff who undertake memorial inspections and tests are appropriately trained to do so.
Where memorials are found to be in a dangerous or unstable condition the Council officers shall make safe by either;
- Laying down
- Staking and banding the memorial
- Cordoning off the area.
A notice shall be fixed to the memorial explaining that it has failed. The owner of the Exclusive Right of Burial, and therefore the responsible person for the memorial, shall be notified of this failure in writing at the last known address. Owners are requested to instruct a Monumental Mason to apply to the Council to undertake appropriate repairs within 28 days. If the memorial has not been adequately repaired after this time the Council may take steps to permanently make safe the memorial.
Memorials will only be laid down when there is a genuine and immediate risk to health and safety, or where there is unlikely to be living or traceable owner or where the last burial was undertaken more than 30 years ago.