Bishop's Stortford Cemetery Act 2024

2 Interpretation

In this Act—

• “burial” includes the interment of cremated remains and “right of burial” includes “right of interment” accordingly;

• “the burial authority” means the parish council or another person to whom any or all of the benefit of the provisions of this Act and any related statutory functions have been transferred;

• “the cemetery” means the cemeteries sited on either side of Cemetery Road, Bishop's Stortford and known as 'the Old Cemetery' and 'the New Cemetery';

• “civil partner” includes former civil partner;

• “Commonwealth war burial” means a burial of any member of the armed forces of His Majesty who died in the war of 1914 to 1921 or in the war of 1939 to 1947 or of any other person for whose burial the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible;

• “Commonwealth war memorial” means any memorial erected, owned or maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission;

• “expired” in relation to a right of burial, means that the right has ceased to exist, whether by reason of any fixed period for which the right was granted having ended or the right having been surrendered, forfeited or otherwise determined, or for any other reason other than the right having been extinguished in accordance with the provisions of section 3;

• “grave” includes any grave space and any crypt, vault, catacomb, arch, brick grave, mausoleum, columbarium or other place of interment;

• “memorial” includes any monument, headpiece, headstone, flatstone, slab, footstone, borderstone, kerbstone, tombstone or tablet, any wall, kerb or railing protecting, enclosing or marking a grave (including any permanent covering thereon), or any other commemorative object placed in the cemetery including vases, flower containers or other similar objects;

• “parish council” means Bishop's Stortford Town Council;

• “public or common grave” means a grave in respect of which no right of burial has been acquired by or granted to, or is otherwise vested in, any individual or body other than a local authority or the burial authority;

• “register of grants” means the register of grants of exclusive rights of burial, and of rights to erect or place memorials, maintained by the burial authority;

• “registered address” means an address registered in the register of grants;

• “registered number” means a number registered in the register of grants;

• “registered owner”—

  (a)

  in relation to any right of burial means the person at the time in question named as the owner in the register of grants;

  (b)

  in relation to any memorial means the person at the time in question named in the said register as the person to whom the right to erect or place that memorial has been granted or, if no such person is named, the registered owner of the right of burial in the grave in or on which the memorial is erected or placed; and

  (c)

  in relation to any right that has expired or been extinguished, means the last person so registered;

• “relative”, in relation to any person, means any of the following—

  (a)

  that person's spouse;

  (b)

  that person's civil partner;

  (c)

  any brother, sister, aunt or uncle of that person or of that person's spouse or civil partner;

  (d)

  any lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of that person or of a person mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c);

• “relevant memorial” means a memorial in or on a grave space in respect of which the burial authority has given notice of its intention to exercise the powers under section 4;

• “specified date” means the date specified in a notice given for the purposes of section 3 or section 4, on which it is intended that any burial rights should be extinguished, any human remains should be disturbed, or any memorial should be removed, as the case may be; and

• “spouse” includes former spouse.