Summary: Mrs X complained the Council encroached on her son’s grave when digging an adjacent grave and did not respond sensitively to her complaint about this. The Council was not at fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council encroached on her son’s grave when digging an adjacent grave. She says the grave wall was removed so the two graves are now joined. She believes as the new grave settled her son’s grave sunk with it. Mrs X wants to be buried with her son and is worried the damage to his grave means this will not be possible.
2. Mrs X also complains the Council’s handling of the complaint was cold given the sensitivity of the situation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Mrs X and considered the information she provided.
6. I considered the information provided by the Council.
7. I wrote to Mrs X and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment. I considered their comments and made further enquiries before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. There are no statutory guidelines for minimum separation distances between graves. Individual councils and cemeteries may set their own rules.
9. This Council works to a standard nine feet by four feet for all plots and plots run continuously with no gaps between them.
10. Graves are usually dug by mechanical digger so cannot be precise down to a fine scale. Further, coffins vary in size, so the size of the grave dug will also vary.
11. The Council says it measures and marks out all plots prior to burial to ensure they are dug to the correct size. In addition, the grave digging team check the measurements as they dig. Finally, Council officers check the grave once it is dug to ensure everything is safe and correct.

What happened

12. Mrs X’s son was buried in December 2016. Mrs X purchased burial rights so she could be buried in the same plot with him.
13. There was no problem until June 2018 when Mrs X saw a new grave marked out adjacent to her son’s grave. She spoke to Council officers, who assured her the new grave would not encroach on her son’s. A few days later, Mrs X saw the new grave had been dug as originally marked. Again, Council officers assured her the new grave did not encroach on her son’s grave.
14. Mrs X believes the Council removed the wall between her son’s grave and the new grave. Therefore, she believes her son is now sharing a grave with a stranger, which she finds very upsetting.
15. Mrs X met two council officers in July 2018 to discuss her concerns. Officer 1 measured the plot and said it was the correct size. Mrs X says her partner challenged this and officer 1 conceded the grave was short by four inches. He said he would make sure it was reinstated. Mr W witnessed this meeting. He confirms officer 1 accepted the grave was short and said it would be reinstated.
16. In response to my enquiries, the Council said the reinstatement work related to landscaping to address crumbling soil at the edge of the grave. It did not mean the plot was too short. It says it completed the reinstatement work by the end of January 2019. The Council confirmed there is an end wall between the two graves of at least six inches.
17. Mrs X says after the new grave was dug her son’s grave started sinking. She says it has sunk at the end by about five inches. She is concerned this will mean she cannot be buried with her son after she dies. In December 2018, she spoke to a grave digger, who said she could not be buried there for three or four years. She says he told her if a new grave was dug in her son’s plot now it would collapse. In response to my enquiries, the Council says it spoke to its staff but no-one could recall this conversation. It says Mrs X’s right to be buried with her son was not compromised by the new grave.
18. The Council says there are natural settlements due to gravity, water movement, soil type and the slope of the ground. Due to the exceptionally dry summer in 2018, it says many graves in this cemetery sank further. It says most of these were not near a fresh excavation.
19. In response to my further enquiries the Council confirmed the grave diggers took steps to prevent a collapse when digging the new grave and has provided a copy of the grave opening notice to confirm this.
20. Mrs X has asked it to excavate to prove there is a grave wall but the Council has explained this would be very difficult to do and is likely to leave the area much less stable.
21. In January 2019, a cross intended for the new grave was placed on Mrs X’s son’s grave. Mrs X told the Council about this and the Council took action to make sure the cross was correctly positioned.
22. Mrs X is worried that a memorial on the new grave will also be incorrectly positioned and this may sink into her son’s grave. The Council says the family can only erect a memorial with permission. If the family does ask for permission, the Council will make sure the memorial is placed correctly.

Complaints handling

23. Mrs X says she felt the Council’s response was cold given the sensitivity of the matter. She made a formal complaint about the Council’s failure to reinstate the grave as officer 1 had promised. In response to her complaint, the Council said:
• her son did have the correct plot size but as the headstone was set six inches from the end, this gave a misleading impression of the length of the grave;
• the grave was dug and shored in line with Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) guidelines;
• the thickness of the end wall depended on the size of the coffins;
• her right of burial was not affected by the new grave; and
• if a headstone was placed on the new grave an officer would ensure it was correctly placed on the boundary of the plot.
24. Mrs X was not happy with the response. She felt the grave had been affected and she provided measurements, photos and diagrams to show this. She asked for a meeting at the cemetery.
25. The Council said Officer 1 had conceded a couple of inches along the edge of the grave had crumbled during digging but once the new grave had settled and been topped up this would not be a problem. It said there was nothing more it could do.
26. In response to my enquiries the Council said it met with Mrs X on site to discuss her concerns on more than one occasion. It says it dealt with her concerns as sensitively as possible.

My findings

27. There is a dispute about whether the son’s grave is the correct size. The Council says it is but Mrs X says it is about four inches short. She has provided photographs, which she says prove this. The Council has explained the reinstatement work related to crumbling soil at the edge of the grave and did not mean the plot was too short. There is a conflict of evidence that I cannot resolve but on balance I am satisfied the Council is not at fault.
28. Mrs X believes the Council removed the grave wall and she is worried she cannot now be buried with her son. The Council says there is a six inch end wall and her right to be buried there has not been compromised. It says the son’s grave has not sunk because of the new grave and has suggested other reasons this may have happened. It has explained why it would not be appropriate to excavate to prove the grave wall exists. On balance, I am satisfied the grave has not been compromised.
29. It is not clear who placed the cross incorrectly on the son’s grave but the Council did put this right as soon as Mrs X told it about this. It has confirmed it will ensure any permanent memorial is correctly positioned.
30. Mrs X was very upset by the potential encroachment of her son’s grave. She feels Council staff responded coldly to her concerns. I note Council officers did meet with Mrs X at the cemetery on several occasions to discuss her concerns. I cannot comment on whether the officers appeared cold but I do consider the Council was making a genuine attempt to respond to Mrs X’s concerns. I have also seen the letters the Council sent as part of the complaints process. Although I am aware Mrs X does not agree with everything the Council has said I consider its letters were professional and it did try to address all her concerns. Therefore, I am satisfied there was no fault in the way the Council dealt with the complaint.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation. I have not found fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman