Mill Hill Cemetery

THE cost of burying a cremated loved one at two cemeteries is expected to jump by 165 per cent next year.

Westminster residents will have to pay £249 more to have ashes buried at Hanwell or Mill Hill cemeteries, with prices rising from £151 to £400, according to a list of charges shared by the city council.

Finance lead Cllr David Boothroyd said: “In order to continue providing excellent services to our residents, we’ve reviewed our fees to keep up with rising costs and what’s typical across London. This process has been informed by market analysis and inflationary trends. We’ll never charge more than it costs to deliver the service and all our fee income helps to keep council tax low for our residents.”

The cost of cremation is also expected to jump 56 per cent from £599 to £935. In fact, all interment fees for city residents at these two cemeteries are rising by between 25 and 27 per cent. Costs for non-residents will increase by 4 per cent and 13 per cent; however, their fees are substantially higher.

The council is also scrapping burial fees for resident and non-resident infants (0-5 years), which currently range from £308 to £707. At a third cemetery, East Finchley, the rises are from 4 to 11 per cent. Interment fees include public burial, earth grave, and oversized caskets/coffins.

The council said a number of charges will increase above the inflation rate because of “commercial analysis of markets and considerations around cost recovery”, like increases in staff pay.

• The city is expected to bring in £5.9million extra, adding to a total budgeted £164million from service fees. This covers services from commercial waste collection to planning and fines.

Meanwhile, the cost of residential licences or a deed of variation will jump £720 from £880 to £1,600. Building control charges for commercial and residential properties, which includes fees like building notices and inspections, are also tipped to rise 30 per cent.

The city council’s cabinet approved the increases on Monday.