Cemeteries customer care

We aim to deliver a professional and caring service through our sympathetic, competent and trained staff.

What you can expect from us

Funerals

We will:

• Meet with you to offer help and advice if you are planning a funeral, showing you the different grave options and facilities that are available. Please make an appointment by contacting the Cemetery Office.
• Provide services which meet with the Charter for the Bereaved. The Charter, of which we are members, helps to ensure all funerals are dignified and personal.
• Have memorial services to remember all those buried in the cemeteries. We will display the dates on the cemetery notice boards, in the newsletter, and on the website.
• Meet the legal responsibilities relating to the management and provision of cemeteries.

Cemetery grounds

We will:

• Display our opening times at entrances, in our service information booklet, and on the website.
• Open the cemeteries every day of the year in order that members of the public may visit (including Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
• Ensure the grounds are kept neat and tidy. We will make available our cemetery grounds maintenance standards.
• Ensure there is easy access to chapels, toilets and offices. Chapels are fitted with an induction loop and have appropriate spaces for wheelchairs.

Cemetery grounds maintenance standards

We will:

• Cut the grass on the Lawn Sections every 21 days during the growing season.
• The area between lawn headstones will be trimmed every 4 weeks.
• The roses will be pruned by the end of February.
• Graves will be levelled and seeded in Autumn and Spring.
• The grass on Traditional Sections will be cut every 4 weeks during the growing season.
• The grass on Children's Sections will be cut every 21 days during the growing season.
• The Gardens of Remembrance will be cut every 21 days during the growing season.
• After grass cutting has been completed, any cuttings on the paths will be blown onto the grassed areas.
• All shrubs, trees and hedges will be pruned and cut back in accordance with their seasonal requirements.
• Leaf clearance will be completed by February.
• During times of adverse weather conditions, we will prioritise the following sections: Childrens, Traditional sections where recent burials have taken place; Lawn Sections; Gardens of Rest; front entrances.

Memorials

We will:

• Process memorial permit applications within 10 days. All memorial work must be to the National Association of Memorial Mason's Code of Working Practice, and meet cemetery regulations.
• Have a programme of work to check and make sure memorials are not dangerous.
• Contact owners, where up to date details are known, to let them know if their memorial needs to be made safe.

Staff and administration

We will:

• Respond to enquiries in a timely manner. We have a 24 hour answer phone when the office is closed or officers are out attending funerals. We will respond to all voice messages within 24 hours. Emails will be responded to within 2 working days.
• Provide information leaflets, booklets and prices of the different services available and post these within three days, if requested.
• Keep our website pages up to date.
• Consult with our customers and use the feedback to develop and improve our services.

What you can do to help us

Please:

• Put used watering cans next to the water taps.
• Use the cemetery bins provided for litter.
• Do not scatter or bury cremated remains in the cemetery without permission.
• Do not use ceramic, glass vases or jars (they can break easily and cause harm to visitors and staff).
• Do not plant or place items outside your grave space.
• Do not drive on grass verges.
• Dogs are permitted within our Cemeteries but they must be on a lead at all times.
• Let us know if you change your address.

Contact the Cemeteries Team

The Cemetery Office is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm, excluding Public Holidays, Christmas and New Year.

Cemeteries Department
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
2nd Floor Civic Centre
44 Richmond Road
Twickenham
TW1 3BZ

Telephone: 020 8876 4511
Email: cemeteries@richmond.gov.uk