General Cemetery Act 2025

19 Protection for certain graves

(1) The Company must obtain the written agreement of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission before exercising the powers conferred by section 17 and section 18 in respect of—

(a) any grave in which there is a Commonwealth war burial, or

(b) any grave space in or on which there is a Commonwealth war memorial.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), nothing in section 18 affects the jurisdiction of the consistory court of the diocese over consecrated land which is used, or is available for use, for the interment of human remains.

(3) Where the Company proposes to disturb any human remains in consecrated land, the Company may not exercise its powers under section 18 without first obtaining a faculty, with or without conditions attached to it, from the consistory court of the diocese in which the land is situated, and any objection to the proposed disturbance of human remains in consecrated land by any person under section 18 must be heard and determined by that consistory court.

(4) The Company must obtain the written agreement of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and the relevant planning authority before exercising the powers conferred by sections 17 and 18 in respect of a protected grave.

(5) The Company may from time to time, in consultation with, or at the request of, the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and the relevant planning authority, designate a grave as a protected grave.

(6) The Company may from time to time, following consultation with the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and the relevant planning authority, revoke the designation of any grave as a protected grave.

(7) The Company must maintain a record of any protected grave.

(8) The record maintained under subsection (7) must at all reasonable times be available for consultation by any person free of charge.

(9) In this section, “the relevant planning authority” means—

(a) in relation to a grave in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the Council of that London Borough; and

(b) in relation to a grave in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Council of that Royal Borough.