Cemeteries - Carmountside Cemetery and Crematorium

Attendance at Carmountside Crematorium

During the current pandemic period the city council has been committed to ensuring the bereaved are treated with sensitivity, dignity and respect whilst making sure mourners and workers involved in the management of funerals are protected from infection.

• From 19 July 2021 the maximum number of mourners attending funeral services at Carmountside Chapel will return to pre lockdown numbers, which is approximately 140 seated. When all seats are taken, we are re-introducing the use of our external speakers on larger funerals.
• The requirement to wear face coverings law will be lifted. However, we advise that face coverings are still worn where possible, especially at larger funerals.
• Hand sanitiser and the NHS Track and Trace QR code are located outside the chapel, if mourners can continue to use them to support NHS Test & Trace.

The live webcast service is available at an additional cost, the easy to use live streaming service is available for up to 150 viewers per service enabling them to watch from the safety of their own home and giving the reassurance of their presence at the service.  28 day watch again facilities, DVD and Blue-Ray recordings are also available at an additional cost.

Burials

There is no limit on the number of mourners present at a burial service.

Mourners in attendance should follow the general advice on hand hygiene and preventing the spread of infection and maintain social distancing when traveling to the funeral via the safest route possible, preferably in a car by themselves, or with someone from their household. Where public transport is to be used the additional risk involved should be considered.

In many situations the household members of the deceased person will be the next of kin and they might be having to self-isolate in line with household guidance. It is important the mourners who are from a household that is self-isolating should:

• not attend if they have any symptoms of any kind, even if these are very mild
• maintain a distance of at least two metres between themselves and others
• advise the other mourners that they are otherwise self-isolating at home, and ensure that they do not attend at the same time as another mourner who may be extremely clinically vulnerable.
• practice careful hand and respiratory hygiene
• avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth
• cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin
• use their own transport where possible

Mourners in the clinically vulnerable or extremely clinically vulnerable groups should adhere to rigorous hand and respiratory hygiene and social distancing at all times but particularly whilst out of the home environment. It is important that the organiser of the funeral advises other attendees that there is an extremely clinically vulnerable person attending and reiterating the need to stay at home if they are unwell, and to be respectful of the vulnerable person’s need to avoid close contact at any point.
Mourners who are showing coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms (a new continuous cough or a high temperature) should not attend the funeral as they pose a risk to others.
It is currently expected new graves will be available until approximately 2042.

Facilities:

• large chapel, seating 150, which is available for services
• new full earth graves  
• re-open graves 
• graves for cremation ashes 
• woodland park environmentally-friendly burial area 
• sweet dreams and butterfly garden children's and babies' burial and cremation ashes area
  • the butterfly area is still used for cremation ashes
  • butterfly dreams garden offers the choice of private graves where families can have a personalised memorial or a shared grave
  • areas where families can leave personal mementos
  • Wendy houses provide a place where many people place personal mementoes
  • during the Christmas period a tree is placed in each of the gardens where families can sponsor the star lights in memory of their loved ones
  • features in the garden are funded by donations collected from the wishing well and from donations made following chapel services.
• war memorial
• private gardens 

After a burial in a lawn grave has taken place, the grave will be topped up as necessary as the ground settles. Graves are usually turfed between October and March, prior to any turf being laid the ground must be allowed to settle. This takes up to six months. This can be about three months after the burial or up to six months if the burial takes place in spring or summer.  We will not normally turf during the summer months, instead we wait until September/October when weather conditions are more suitable.

All memorial items should be placed on the memorial foundation - not the grass. Don't use items that will break, such as glass or earthenware, and make sure that all items left are safe and appropriate. 

We will contact you to ask that unsuitable items be removed within two weeks. If we think that something causes an immediate danger to staff or visitors or makes it difficult for us to carry out grounds maintenance, we will remove it immediately.

Following a burial funeral wreaths and other floral tributes will be removed two weekends after the burial.

All Christmas wreaths and floral tributes are removed on or after the third Monday in January.