Regulations

Death at Home
When a person dies at home, the next of kin or executor and the family doctor should be informed. The doctor who cared for the person during the last illness will complete a free Certificate of the Cause of Death (called the "death certificate" hereafter). If cremation is intended, this doctor will complete Cremation Form B and will arrange for another doctor to complete the confirmatory Form C. The second doctor will need to view the body at some stage. These forms are provided free of charge from the administration office for the crematorium. The two doctors will require payment for completing the forms. These forms are not required if the death is taken over by the Coroner (see "Coroner" below).
The death certificate must be taken to the Registrar of Births and Deaths within five days. In Scotland, you can visit any Registrar of Births and Deaths within eight days. Ensure you visit the correct office and check opening times, as they may operate limited hours. The doctor may send the death certificate direct to the Registrar and not give it to you to take.

Death in Hospital
If someone dies in hospital, the death certificate will be issued there. The next of kin may be requested to authorise a post-mortem. If cremation is intended, the hospital will arrange the necessary documentation.
The deceased will be transferred to a mortuary. Arrangements to deliver the death certificate to the Registrar of Births and Deaths and to register the death are as above, under "Death at Home". The Registrar will be the one covering the Hospital area, which may be different to the home address of the deceased.
If the death occurs in a residential or nursing home, they may follow a similar routine as for that in hospital. In addition, they may have an arrangement with a funeral director for the removal of the body to a mortuary or a Chapel of Rest. This funeral director does not have to do the funeral for you, neither should they canvass your business. You may choose your own funeral director or you can do the funeral without one.

Coroner
If the death was sudden or due to an accident or no doctor had attended for some time, the Coroner must be informed. On some occasions, the Registrar of Births and Deaths may also report the death to the Coroner. The Coroner will decide whether to hold a post-mortem and/or an inquest. As most cases are found to be due to natural causes, inquests are rarely required. The Coroner will then notify the Registrar that the death can be registered. The person registering the death will need to visit the Registrar to do this. The Coroner's Officer will keep this person informed about what to do. As these arrangements may cause delay, you should not arrange the funeral until authorised by the Coroner's Officer. The Coroner will issue an Order for Burial (white certificate) or for Cremation (yellow certificate) without charge. The certificate should be given to your funeral director or sent to the cemetery or crematorium as soon as possible.

When arranging the funeral, you are not obliged to use the funeral director appointed by the Coroner to transport the deceased. You can choose your own funeral director or do the funeral without one, as you so wish.

Registrar of Births and Deaths
The Registrar can register the death only if he/she is given or has obtained the death certificate or has received notification from the Coroner. He or she will require to know the following details about the deceased:
1. FULL NAME - including any other names they were known by
2. MAIDEN SURNAME - if the deceased was a married woman
3. DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH
4. OCCUPATION - and their husband's full name and occupation, if the deceased
was a married woman or a widow

You will need to confirm the date and place of death. Other questions will be asked about the date of birth of the surviving spouse and information about the state pensions and allowances the person was receiving, including war pensions. The NHS insurance number will be requested and the medical card of the deceased should be surrendered to the Registrar, if it is available. If the number is not known and the medical card unavailable, you can still register the death.
The Registrar will issue a free social security form to ensure that benefits are being paid correctly. If the Coroner is not issuing an Order for Burial or Cremation, the Registrar will issue a free certificate for this purpose. This should be given to your funeral director or sent to the cemetery or crematorium as soon as possible. For burial the form is coloured green.
The Registrar will advise you over any further certificate copies you require and the cost involved. These will be for obtaining Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, to show banks, social security or building societies and to claim insurance.

The Deceased
While the above procedures are taking place, it is essential that the deceased is cared for. With death at home, if you are using a funeral director, he or she should be called as soon as possible. They will remove the deceased and complete laying-out. The deceased may remain at their Chapel of Rest or may be returned home, should you so wish. If the death was in hospital, the staff usually complete laying out and your funeral director will collect the deceased and carry out your instructions.
If you are not using a funeral director and the death occurs at home, you may complete laying out or have this done by a district nurse or some other person. The deceased can remain at home and must be kept as cool as possible. Your local mortuary, cemetery or crematorium may have facilities to hold the deceased pending the funeral. If the death was in hospital, the deceased may be taken to the hospital mortuary. You can collect the deceased yourself, provided you have a coffin and suitable transport. You can keep the deceased at home or you may be able to use the mortuary until the day of the funeral. These arrangements are not mandatory and can be varied in accordance with ethnic or other needs.

Death Abroad
Refer to your contact at The Woodland and Wildlife Conservation Company Limited, your Charter member, for further advice.

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE STANDARD

The main feature of burial grounds owned by The Woodland and Wildlife Conservation Company LLP is that they are 'green', that is, eco-friendly. Our policy is to increase tree planting and reinforce hedges around the entire area and to provide private areas for visitors; the benefits of an increase in the songbird and butterfly population being a welcome side effect. All trees and hedging plants used will be native species, rather than 'garden varieties'.

Hedging is a vital habitat for birds and must be managed to ensure it is thick and healthy. The hedges will be trimmed at the end of winter, before the spring nesting season, allowing the birds to enjoy the berries and roost in the branches during the winter months.

Necessary tree pruning will be carried out in the dormant season, late winter. Our policy is to remove the lower branches of the young trees so as to encourage them to mature more quickly. Good woodland management may necessitate the selective thinning of trees, in order that the maximum number grow to healthy maturity. This will produce a natural-looking, vigorous wood over the years.

It is not our policy to burn woody prunings as this releases carbons into the atmosphere. We retain logs in heaps called 'habitat piles' to encourage insects and the birds that feed on them. Smaller prunings are chipped or shredded and added to these habitat piles. We will compost as much plant material as possible. This will include floral offerings and wreaths that will be removed from the burial site after a reasonable period but not less than 7 days. We do not use peat products and discourage their use by others.

So far as the grass is concerned, we will take an annual hay crop where possible, as removing the top growth has the effect of encouraging wild flowers. If we cannot take a hay crop, we will cut the grass once or twice a year. We favour this more natural look as it encourages the small creatures and birds, although we will maintain mown paths for visitor access.

Our policy on herbicides is to use them as sparingly as possible to remove the deep-rooted perennial weeds, bramble, docks, ragwort etc. In the established and planted wooded areas, we use wood chippings to encourage woodland bulbs.

We will ensure that all timber used on site for seats, burial caskets and similar comes from sustainable sources. No tropical hardwoods will be used.

Please note that our ground staff will provide small vases to hold cut flowers and we ask your assistance in maintaining a woodland appearance. We ask visitors to leave only sprays of flowers on graves and to take home all the wrappings and non-biodegradable items. If these are left, please be advised that we will remove and dispose of such items after a week or so.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING OUR NATURAL BURIAL SITES

'WWCC': means 'The Woodland & Wildlife Conservation Co LLP', the company performing the actual burials and which will undertake all the care and maintenance of the burial site until the land available for burials has reached its capacity.

'WWT': means 'The Woodland & Wildlife Trust Co Ltd', which is the company set up to undertake the long term care and maintenance of the burial land once it has reached its capacity. It is planned to pass the freehold of the land from WWCC to WWT. A payment will be made from WWCC to WWT for every burial so as to provide the money for the long term care of the land.

This is a woodland site and WWCC and its staff can accept no responsibility for the safety of visitors. Be especially aware of 'trip' hazards and, in particular, please keep children under close supervision, especially around open water.

No exhumation of persons or ashes will be permitted, except by Court Order.

Floral tributes and wreaths and any other items placed on or near graves will be removed after a reasonable period (normally 7 days) so as to allow the natural vegetation to develop. Our ground staff will supply small vases for cut flowers, and permit one per grave. Please take home all flower wrappings and note that we will remove and dispose of all non-biodegradable items from graves after a week or so.

The planting of young trees on the area used for burials will be undertaken in the dormant season by the landscape contractors and no person shall be allowed to interfere with any grave, tree or plant, except with the express permission of the staff of WWCC. As the young trees grow, they may need to be thinned or coppiced in accordance with good woodland management.

Please ensure that all coffins and containers for ashes are of bio-degradable materials. We prefer not to accept embalmed bodies for burial, except in exceptional circumstances, and by prior arrangement.

It is our view that rings and other jewellery should not be interred at Herongate Wood as these irreplaceable mementoes should be retained within the family

After an interment service in the Hall of Remembrance, you are welcome to stay as long as you like at the graveside. Any additional use of the Hall of Remembrance must be pre-arranged.

We like dogs but they must be kept on a short lead and any fouling removed off-site, please.

We would ask you please to remember that others using the grounds may be feeling emotional and any comfort you can bring will be appreciated. They may, however, wish to be quiet and private and we would ask you and any companions, particularly children, to respect this.

You are welcome to return to Herongate Wood whenever you choose but we would ask, if there is another funeral taking place when you visit, that you please treat the newly-bereaved family with consideration and respect.

The graves and ashes plots will be dug and backfilled by the landscaping staff but, with prior arrangement, mourners may be involved, under supervision and at their own risk.

On-site car parking is provided but neither WWCC nor its staff can accept any responsibility for loss or damage, however caused. Please note we have provided Designated Car Parking for disabled visitors. This provision is limited and is strictly reserved for those vehicles displaying a vailid Disabled Badge. All other visitors are to use the general car park, please.

The granting of burial rights gives the right to a single burial only in each plot, apart from family ashes plots, except with the express permission of WWCC. Any burial rights granted give no further rights over the freehold of the land.

Every burial will be recorded in our Burials Register, the plots by our alpha-numeric system and burials within the plots by electronic tag. The information will be retained by WWCC and passed to WWT in due course. Copies of the Burial Register will be included in the memorial pack, given to the Applicant after interment.

After every interment, we will send a feed back form, which we would ask you, please to complete and return. It is very important to us that we give the best possible funeral and any comments will help achieve this aim.

THE ASSOCIATION OF NATURAL BURIAL GROUNDS

This is to certify that The Woodland and Wildlife Conservation Company LLP,73 Rainsford Lane, Chelmsford, Essex, CM12QS is a Full Member of The Association of Natural Burial Grounds, agreeing to abide by the Code of Practice set out below.

Code of Practice

1. Association members agree to take all reasonable steps for the conservation of local wildlife and archaeological sites and to manage their projects according to sound and consistent ecological principles.
2. Association members must be in a position to guarantee the long term security of both the graves and the wildlife, and have a satisfactory plan for when the site reaches its capacity.
3. Association members, other than local authority sites, must satisfy the Association as to the quality, financial probity and non-indebtedness and relevant qualifications of their directors, trustees, managing body or similar.
4. Association members accept for burial bodies whether wrapped in a shroud or placed in a cardboard or wooden coffin or alternative container or wrapping, provided these are environmentally acceptable.
5. Association members will not require that a funeral director be used. Those using the Nature Reserve Burial Ground will be informed that they may organise the funeral themselves, including conducting any service. They may either do a token amount of digging or dig a single depth grave, subject to any equipment, training, safety or regulatory constraints; and they may help with filling in the grave.
6. Association members will keep a permanent record of exactly where each grave is. A copy of the burial ground register entry will be made available to the client and the register will be open for public inspection.
7. Association members will either sell coffins and shrouds to clients or provide information as to where these can be obtained.
8. Association members, whose charges must be fair and reasonable, will provide fully itemised price lists for potential clients on request and will also reveal these prices on the telephone on request.
9. Association members will provide a copy of this Code of Practice to clients using their services and will have copies available on request for others.
10. Association members will provide each client using their services with a feedback form, either the site's own form or the Association's form, asking for the client's comments on the service provided and for any suggested improvements, with a request that a copy of the feedback form be sent direct to the Association. This feedback form is to include the address and phone number of the Association and to note that any complaints can be sent to the Association.
11. Association members, if taking money in advance, agree to abide by the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000 Regulation of Funeral Plan Contracts.
12. Association members accept that in the event of a complaint from a client that is not dealt with to the Association's satisfaction within three months of the complaint being made, the Natural Burial Ground's membership will cease without refund. A serious complaint may result in immediate suspension of membership whilst the complaint is investigated.
13. Before membership is granted or renewed, the Association may require further evidence on the above or any other relevant matters.