Wymondham town council burial policy to change after row

Wymondham Town Council is to make it easier for people to prove the deceased had been living in the town to qualify for discounted costs to be buried in its cemetery.

It follows the case of a family who were forced to pay full price to bury a relative who had lived in the town for most of her life.

Non-residents have to pay four times more to be buried in Wymondham Cemetery (Image: Newsquest)

But despite paying for her to be buried alongside her husband in advance, the woman did not qualify for the discount because she had lived in a care home in Watton 14 miles away for the five years before her death.

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There is a big difference between the costs for locals and non-residents, with locals paying £220 for a burial compared with £880 for those living outside the parish.

The previous rules required evidence of being enrolled on the electoral register to show people had lived in Wymondham and therefore qualified for the discount.

But now families can produce other forms of evidence to prove residency within the last seven years.Councillor Michael Rosen (Image: Norwich Labour)

Previous attempts to change the rules, branded as "unfair" by Wymondham's Labour Party members, failed after tempers flared at a meeting in August last year.

It led to a war of words between councillors who struggled to agree to define what evidence was needed to prove the deceased was a resident.

Labour town councillor Michael Rosen said he was pleased the rules will be changed but he was "disappointed" another proposal to offer discounted burial rates to people on benefits was voted down by Liberal Democrat members.

The change is part of a wider review of Wymondham Cemetery policies that include increasing burial costs by 10pc across the board.