RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM. Benhall Mill Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5JJ

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1 RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM Benhall Mill Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5JJ THE KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM GENERAL INFORMATION OFFICE HOURS Monday Thursday inclusive am 5.00 pm Friday 8.30am - 4:30pm (The office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays, Good Friday, Christmas Day and on such other days as may be appointed a general holiday or may from time to time be approved by the Council) POSTAL ADDRESS Kent and Sussex Crematorium, Benhall Mill Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5JJ TELEPHONE Tunbridge Wells (01892) FAX Tunbridge Wells (01892) E MAIL bereavement@tunbridgewells.gov.uk

2 (i) HOURS OF OPENING OF KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM TO VISITORS Garden of Remembrance The portion of the Crematorium grounds known as the Garden of Remembrance will normally be open to the public daily from 9am to sunset or 8 pm, whichever is the earlier although the Council reserves the right to close or limit the entry of persons to the Crematorium grounds, including the Garden of Remembrance, at any time without notice. Chapel The Crematorium Chapel will be open to the public at the following times: Monday-Friday 9 am to 4.30 pm (subject to no Service being in progress) Further details, forms and information may be obtained from: THE REGISTRAR, KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM, BENHALL MILL ROAD, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS, TN2 5JJ 1. INTERPRETATION RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE KENT AND SUSSEX CREMATORIUM, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS Throughout these regulations the following words or terms shall, where used, have the meaning or signification hereby assigned to them, viz Council shall mean the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Crematorium shall mean the building situated off Benhall Mill Road known as the Kent and Sussex Crematorium, Tunbridge Wells, and fitted with plant and equipment for the purpose of disposal of human remains and shall include the Crematorium Chapel, the Crematorium Grounds, the Garden of Remembrance and any other buildings which may now or hereafter be erected thereon or on any further land which the Council may use in connection with the Crematorium. Registrar shall mean the person for the time being holding office by that designation under the Council with respect to the Crematorium or, during his absence, any Officer of the Council duly authorised by the Council to act on his behalf. 2. GENERAL Telephone Messages Any orders or instructions given by telephone will be received at the sole risk of the person giving them and the Council shall not be responsible for any misunderstanding or error which may arise with respect thereto unless they are immediately confirmed in writing and in any manner provided by these regulations. Calculation of Time for Notices In calculating the time required for any notice or application to the Council or any of its officers under these Regulations, Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day and Bank Holidays and such other days as may be appointed a general holiday shall be excluded. Punctuality The time fixed for a funeral shall be the time at which the procession is to arrive at the Crematorium. This time must be strictly observed and in default, the Registrar may allow another funeral to take precedence. A surcharge at the current rate prevailing for funeral services overrunning there allocated time may also be levied at the discretion of the Registrar. Gratuities No employee of the Council is allowed either to take any gratuity or to undertake private work of any kind in connection with the Crematorium either in his own time or during the Council s time. (v) Complaints Any complaints of incivility or inattention should be made to the Registrar.

3 (vi) (vii) (viii) Advertisements No advertisement, placard, flag or banner shall be displayed in any part of the Crematorium and no person shall in the Crematorium or its immediate precincts distribute any business cards, advertisements or literature of any kind or otherwise solicit any order for monumental or other works. Vehicles No motor vehicles shall be driven in the Crematorium grounds at a speed in excess of 5mph. All vehicles must be parked in the official car park and at no other point within the Crematorium. Flowers and Wreaths Flowers and wreaths are permitted at a funeral and after the service in the designated area. They will be displayed for a period not exceeding five days unless the funeral director or person responsible for the funeral makes alternative arrangements for their removal. After the five days has elapsed the flowers will be disposed of at the discretion of the Registrar. 3. CREMATIONS No flowers or wreaths shall be placed by memorials in the Garden of Remembrance but may be placed in the vases provided in the flower cloister. All plastic and other artificial flowers, wreaths and greenery will, for the purpose of interpretation in these Regulations be treated as ordinary flowers and disposed of accordingly. (i) General All Cremations shall be carried out strictly in accordance with such Regulations as may be made from time to time by the Secretary of State and the scale of fees and charges approved by the Council. Medical Referee No cremation shall take place except on the written authority of the Medical Referee who may in any case decline (under Regulation 12 of the Cremation Regulations 1930). If the Medical Referee refuses to authorize the cremation he/she must give reasons. (iv) (v) Length of Notice of Cremation All notices for cremations shall be given to the Registrar during office hours only on the forms provided for by the Council. The application for cremation must be delivered to the Registrar not later than 9.00 am two working days prior to the day on which the Cremation is to take place (see Reg 2. (This Regulation shall not apply to cremations required immediately upon the Certificate of a Coroner or the Community Physician). All fees must be paid to the Director of Finance before the cremation takes place. Hours of Cremation Cremations may take place only between 9.30 am and pm and 2 pm and 4 pm on Monday to Friday except on the production of the certificate of the Coroner of the Community Physician that immediate cremation is necessary on grounds of public health. Cremations may, at the discretion of the Registrar, also take place outside these hours in times of epidemic or other special circumstances. In the event of any cremation taking place outside the hours set out in the above paragraph an additional fee as prescribed in the scale of fees and charges will be payable. Cremations will not be allowed on Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays, Good Friday, Christmas Day or such other days as may be appointed as general holidays. (vi) Attendance of Clergy The funeral director or other person having charge of any funeral will be responsible for arranging with the incumbent clergyman or minister for him to be present to perform any religious or non religious service thereafter.

4 (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) Services All the usual forms of Religious or non religious Services will be permitted although no Service in the Crematorium will be allowed to occupy a period of more than twenty minutes unless additional service times have been arranged at the time of booking. Any other form of ceremony is subject to the approval of the Council. Mourners All persons attending a cremation are requested to leave the Crematorium building immediately after the conclusion of the Service. Two representatives of the deceased person being cremated may, with the express permission of the Registrar, see the coffin placed in the cremation chamber but no inspection of the process of cremation will be permitted. At least two hours notice that representatives wish to witness the coffin being placed in the cremator must be given. Removal from Crematorium In no case shall the removal of a body of a deceased person for any purpose whatsoever be permitted after the same has been received in the Crematorium on the order of a Coroner, a Chief Officer of Police or a Court of Summary Jurisdiction. Coffin No body will be accepted for cremation unless it is completely enclosed in a coffin. The coffin shall consist only of readily combustible wood such as poplar, thin pine, or American whitewood or such other material which has been tested and approved for cremation by the Federation of British Cremation Authorities and the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, and shall not be painted or varnished but, if desired, may be polished or covered with a thin cloth. Affixed to the coffin lid will be a nameplate stating the full name of the deceased person, their age in years and the date of their death. No metal fittings, including the nameplate, except those specially adapted for cremation, may be used. There must be no cross pieces or cleats on the bottom of the coffin and sawdust, charcoal, pitch, cotton wool or sealing materials which would cause smoke shall, on no account, be used. The coffin shall not exceed seven feet (2100mm) in length, two feet four inches (700mm) in width and 1 foot 8 inches (500mm) in height and shall be marked in a form to be approved by the Registrar to include the name of the deceased. The Registrar may refuse to accept for cremation any coffin which does not confirm with these requirements. (xi) (xii) Floral Tributes No floral tributes placed on the coffin at committal will be permitted to enter the cremation chamber. Funeral Director s Responsibilities Funeral Directors must observe the regulations drawn up by the Council and Instructions to Funeral Directors as issued by the Federation of British Cremation Authorities, copies of which may be obtained from the Registrar. A Funeral Director shall at every cremation undertaken by him provide sufficient bearers to carry the coffin from the hearse into the Crematorium Chapel and his responsibility shall cease immediately the coffin has been placed by his bearers safely on the catafalque. 4. CREMATED REMAINS Burial of Cremated Remains The Council will arrange to scatter remains in the Garden of Remembrance as soon as possible after the cremation without charge provided a request to this effect is made in writing on the form supplied by the person arranging the cremation. If no special arrangements are made for the burial, or dispatch of the cremated remains of the deceased person within one calendar month from the date of cremation, the Registrar shall, after giving fourteen days notice to the person who arranged the cremation, cause the remains to be buried in the Garden of Remembrance. Storage of Cremated Remains If the cremated remains are, in respect of the wishes of the person arranging the cremation, retained in temporary storage after one calendar month from the date of the cremation, then a fee as prescribed in the table of fees and charges shall be charged for each calendar month or part thereof which these are stored in excess of the first calendar month from the date of cremation.

5 (iii) (iv) Removal of Cremated Remains The Council will require a receipt to be signed by the person so authorised if the remains are to be removed from the Crematorium. Removal of remains will not be allowed unless these are placed in an approved container. Cremated Remains from Elsewhere The remains of a person at a Crematorium other than the Kent and Sussex Crematorium may not be disposed of in the Garden of Remembrance without authorisation of the Registrar. The person arranging the disposal will be required to produce a certificate of cremation issued by the Crematorium where cremation took place and to pay the prescribed fee for the disposal of the remains. 5. ADMISSION OF VISITORS (iii) (iv) Hours of Opening The Crematorium shall be open daily between the hours from time to time specified by the Council. Every person, except officers of the Council, shall leave the Crematorium at the time appointed for the closing thereof. Exclusion of Visitors All persons visiting the Crematorium shall comply with the reasonable requirements of the Registrar who may exclude from the Crematorium any person or persons not being mourners or officially connected with the cremation of any deceased person whom he may consider it advisable so to exclude. Children Children under 12 years of age will not be admitted to the Crematorium except under the care of a parent or other responsible person. Conduct of Visitors Visitors must abstain from smoking and refrain from touching any tree, shrub, bush, or plaque or other form of memorial. No person shall use improper language or behave in an indecent manner or shout, sign or whistle in a noisy or boisterous manner or otherwise conduct himself in an indecorous manner within the Crematorium or climb upon or over any gate, wall, fence, or building in or surrounding the Crematorium. No radios or other musical instruments may be played in the Crematorium grounds. No person shall interrupt or obstruct staff in their duties. No person who is improperly dressed or who is in a state of intoxication shall be admitted within the Crematorium. Any person contravening this regulation shall leave the Crematorium immediately upon request by the Registrar or other responsible officer or employee of the Council or of a police officer in uniform. (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Dogs and Other Animals No dogs or other animals will be allowed to enter the Crematorium, other than guide dogs. Photography Photographs may not be taken without the permission of the Registrar. Parking of Cars Visitors cars must be left in the car park provided and at no other point in the Crematorium Grounds. Traffic Flow Vehicles must comply with the one-way traffic flow within the grounds once they have passed the office car park at the entrance in Benhall Mill Road. 6. MEMORIALS Vases Vases will be provided in the flower cloister in which cut flowers may be placed. No labels or names may be permanently attached to these vases. In no circumstances will mourners be permitted to provide their own vases.

6 Garden of Remembrance Only memorials in the form specified in the table of fees and charges will be permitted in the Garden of Remembrance and no other form of memorial, device, vase, glass or other receptacle will be permitted in the Garden of Remembrance, Chapel or any part of the Crematorium. The Council will undertake all work in the Garden of Remembrance and on no account may any person interfere in any way with any tree, shrub, bush, seat or plaque therein, nor place any plants, flowers or shrubs by or adjacent to any memorial in the Garden of Remembrance. 7. POWER TO EXCLUDE FROM CREMATORIUM Any person not complying with these regulations may be refused admittance to the Crematorium for such periods as the Council may think fit. Such remains must be buried in the ground and not scattered in the Garden of Remembrance. 8. ALTERATIONS TO REGULATIONS The Council reserve the right to make any alterations in these regulations from time to time as they think fit.