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Burial and cremation

Information on where cremations take place, arranging a burial, arrangements for a civil funeral, claiming for funeral expenses, what to do if a death took place abroad, taking a body out of the country, exhuming a body and no family to arrange a funeral.

Where can cremations take place in the East Riding?

There are two private crematoria in the East Riding:

Haltemprice

Main Street
Willerby 
East Riding of Yorkshire 
HU10 6EE

Tel: (01482) 671212

Octon

Octon Cross Road
Langtoft
Driffield
East Riding of Yorkshire 
YO25 3BL

Tel: (01377) 267604.

How do I arrange a burial?

Read more about cemeteries and how to arrange a burial, including how to purchase a grave or burial plot.

Where can I scatter ashes?

The law in England relating to the scattering of cremated human remains is quite relaxed. The main condition is that you must obtain the landowner's permission before scattering. In the case of land owned by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (for example public parks) we unfortunately do not approve the scattering of ashes due to the number of requests per year, and the fact that we are a registered burial authority. This rule also applies to areas such as Sewerby Hall and Gardens.

If you intend on scattering ashes at the beach then please make sure you are away from other people who might be paddling or bathing.  For further advice please contact our Foreshores team.

It is possible to scatter ashes in the council’s 6 cemeteries, but this includes a fee of £58 to cover the necessary administration of registering the scattering.

If you wish to scatter ashes on land owned by other organisations such as English Heritage, National Trust, Woodland Trust and the Environment Agency, you are advised to contact them directly.

Can I claim for the funeral expenses?

The GOV.uk website provides advice on the assistance of funeral expenses and payments:

GOV.UK - funeral payments website 

What do I need to do if I want to bury or cremate a body in this country if the death took place abroad?

You need to take the death certificate issued by the foreign registration authority to the registrar of the district in which the burial or cremation is taking place. The registrar has to issue a document called a 'certificate of no liability to register'. This is the form that will be given to the funeral director in order to allow the funeral to take place.

You can read more about what to do when a death happens abroad on the GOV.UK website.

What if I want to take the body out of the country for a burial or cremation?

There is no restriction on moving a body within England and Wales, but you need to tell the coroner for the district if you want to move a body to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or overseas. Information about  what a coroner is can be found on the death registration page. 

To do this you will need to fill out a form, which you can get from a coroner or registrar. You will need to give the completed form to the coroner, along with any 
certificate for burial or cremation. The coroner will let you know when the body can be moved - usually after four days, however, in urgent situations, the whole process can usually be fast-tracked.

What should I do if I need to exhume a body?

If an exhumation is proposed in either consecrated or unconsecrated burial grounds, the Environmental Control department must be contacted well before any work takes place. This is to ensure that all procedures are in place to safeguard public health. 

Please call us on (01482) 396301 (option 2) to discuss your arrangements.

An exhumation can only be carried out under the authority of a Ministry of Justice Licence (if the body is being moved from one unconsecrated burial ground to another) or a Bishop's Faculty (if the body is being moved from one consecrated burial ground to another), or both (if a consecrated burial ground and an unconsecrated burial ground are involved). Both licences and faculties will usually require the presence of an officer from the environmental control department.

Ministry of Justice (external website) 

Diocese of York (external website) 

What happens when there is no family to arrange a funeral?

For the purposes of disease control the council has powers to arrange public health funerals, sometimes referred to as 'welfare funerals' or 'welfare burials', where there is no-one else to make these arrangements. 

The enabling act is the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. This may occur where there is no family involvement and no other arrangements have been made.  It is therefore left to the council to dispose of the body, and this will be by the cheapest method, usually cremation.  Following a cremation the ashes will be scattered in the crematorium gardens 6 months after the date of the cremation, unless the ashes are claimed.

A copy of this legislation can be viewed on the government's National Archives website:

Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 website


There is no requirement for the council to provide a funeral service, and often the cremation has to fit in around available appointments at the crematorium, so it is not possible to set an exact time and date. The council has further powers to collect money of the deceased to cover the council's costs in making these arrangements.

If there are remaining funds after costs have been recovered these are usually passed to the Treasury Solicitor, in the absence of any known family.  The downloadable document below contains details of public health funerals we have undertaken recently.

Public Health Funerals (pdf 90kb)

For further advice and information please contact us:

Tel: (01482) 396301 (option 2)

Email: pollution.control@eastriding.gov.uk 

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