The Midland Metro (Birmingham Eastside Extension) Order 2020

Removal of human remains

27.—(1) In this article, “the specified land” means the land within the Order limits or the limits of deviation.

(2) Before the Authority carries out any development or works that will or may disturb any human remains in the specified land, it must remove those human remains from the specified land, or cause them to be removed, in accordance with the following provisions of this article.

(3) Before any such remains are removed from the specified land, the Authority must give notice of the intended removal, describing the specified land and stating the general effect of the following provisions of this article, by—

(a) publishing a notice once in each of 2 successive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the area of the authorised works; and

(b) displaying a notice in a conspicuous place on or near to the specified land.

(4) As soon as reasonably practicable after the first publication of a notice under paragraph (3), the Authority must send a copy of the notice to Birmingham City Council.

(5) At any time within 56 days after the first publication of a notice under paragraph (3), any person who is a personal representative or relative of any deceased person whose remains are interred in the specified land may give notice in writing to the Authority of that person’s intention to undertake the removal of the remains.

(6) Where a person has given notice under paragraph (5), and the remains in question can be identified, that person may cause such remains to be—

(a) removed and re-interred in any burial ground or cemetery in which burials may legally take place; or

(b) removed to, and cremated in, any crematorium,

and that person must, as soon as reasonably practicable after such re-interment or cremation, provide to the Authority a certificate for the purpose of enabling compliance with paragraph (11).

(7) If the Authority is not satisfied that any person giving notice under paragraph (5) is the personal representative or relative as that person claims to be, or that the remains in question can be identified, the question must be determined on the application of either party in a summary manner by the county court, and the court may make an order specifying who must remove the remains and as to the payment of the costs of the application.

(8) The Authority must pay the reasonable expenses of removing and re-interring or cremating the remains of any deceased person under this article.

(9) If—

(a) within the period of 56 days referred to in paragraph (5) no notice under that paragraph is given to the Authority in respect of any remains in the specified land;

(b) notice under paragraph (5) is given within the period of 56 days and no application is made under paragraph (7) within 56 days after the giving of the notice, but the person who gave the notice fails to remove the remains within a further period of 56 days;

(c) within 56 days after any order is made by the county court under paragraph (7) any person, other than the Authority, specified in the order fails to remove the remains; or

(d) it is determined that the remains to which a notice under paragraph (5) relates cannot be identified,

subject to paragraph (10), the Authority must remove the remains and cause them to be re-interred in such burial ground or cemetery in which burials may legally take place as the Authority thinks suitable for the purpose; and, so far as possible, remains from individual graves must be re-interred in individual containers which must be identifiable by a record prepared with reference to the original position of burial of the remains that they contain.

(10) If the Authority is satisfied that any person giving notice under paragraph (5) is the personal representative or relative as that person claims to be and that the remains in question can be identified, but that person does not remove the remains, the Authority must comply with any reasonable request that person may make in relation to the removal and re-interment or cremation of the remains.

(11) On the re-interment or cremation of any remains under this article—

(a) a certificate of re-interment or cremation must be sent by the Authority to the Registrar-General giving the date of re-interment or cremation and identifying the place from which the remains were removed and the place in which they were re-interred or cremated; and

(b) a copy of the certificate of re-interment or cremation and the record mentioned in paragraph (9) must be sent by the Authority to Birmingham City Council.

(12) The removal of the remains of any deceased person under this article must be carried out in accordance with any directions that may be given by the Secretary of State.

(13) Any jurisdiction or function conferred on the county court by this article may be exercised by the district judge of the court.

(14) Section 25 of the Burial Act 1857(1) (offence of removal of body from burial ground) does not apply to a removal carried out in accordance with this article.

(15) The Town and Country Planning (Churches, Places of Religious Worship and Burial Ground) Regulations 1950(2) does not apply to the authorised works.

(1)

1857 c. 81. Section 25 was substituted by section 2 of Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2014 (2014 No. 1).

(2)

S.I. 1950/792.