A COUNCIL has been forced into a U-turn after it tried to slap grieving families with a so-called “fat tax” for bigger burial plots.
Wolverhampton City Council has ditched plans to charge more for wider graves at Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall, following major backlash from funeral directors and charities.
Danescourt cemetery in TettenhallDanescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall has seen plans for increased charges scrapped[/caption]
GettyWider graves would have seen an increase of 20 per cent in price (stock)[/caption]
GettyBut the council has now backtracked after initial plans (stock)[/caption]
Danescourt cemetery told families it would cost £2,700 if they need to buy a 6ft wide plot, which is 20 per cent more than a standard 5ft grave.
The proposals were made in May after talks with local funeral parlours, but councillors were forced to back down on Thursday after the outcry.
The council claimed the higher price tag was due to a rise in demand for larger graves.
Statistics from 2021 revealed that a third of Wolverhampton’s population was classed as obese, well above the national average of 25.9 per cent.
But after public pressure, the council said it had “decided not to proceed with the plans”.
A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson told The Sun: “No formal decision was ever taken on plans to charge more for larger burial plots.
“This is a common practice taken by councils around the country where higher charges cover the costs of providing a larger plot.
“However, while under consideration, we have decided not to proceed with the plans.”
A source said: “It looked heartless – grieving families don’t need a bill like this on top of everything else.”
The move to set aside a special section at Danescourt Cemetery for bigger coffins was given the green light by councillors back in May.
Other councils, including Birmingham, Walsall and Coventry, have introduced higher fees for larger burial plots, and Wolverhampton said this was among the reasons behind their original proposal.
Before signing it off, the council said it reached out to 25 local funeral directors for their views – but only 10 replied, and just one raised any objections.
Funeral directors condemned the proposed plans before the council changed their mind.
Ross Hickton, a fourth-generation funeral director who runs seven branches of his family firm, Hickton Family Funeral Directors, said: “Essentially it’s a fat tax.
“Families are already going through enough when they’re bereaved.
“People have paid into the system their whole lives and paid local council tax, and now they’re being slapped with another tax at the point of death just due to their size.”
Hickton acknowledged that space was limited but said the council had “a duty of care to local residents to ensure burial space is provided” while catering to religions and cultures that practise burial.
Wolverhampton resident Rosemarie McLaren told the BBC she felt the move was “discrimination, it’s not acceptable”.
“Someone like me who’s a bit bigger, is going to be charged [more] because I’m fat,” she added.
However, Matthew Crawley, chief executive at the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, said the charge seemed reasonable.
“You have a finite amount of space to work with; therefore if you need to eat into a grave next door, say, then that needs to be accounted for,” he said.
“You also have to account for the idea that digging the grave itself will also need extra equipment to keep it safe.”
The National Association of Funeral Directors warned this year that the width of the average coffin had increased in the past decade from between 18 and 20 inches to between 20 and 24 inches.
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