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Aberdeenshire Council has announced a 10% increase in its burial fees plus the rate of inflation (2.8%) which will come into effect from 1 May 2021.
The increase was agreed upon last month as part of a package of additional income and efficiency savings which was approved in the councils 2021/22 budget.
Under the new fees, a lair purchase by an Aberdeenshire resident will cost now £1,140, with the interment fee costing £996.
Councillors accepted that they could not “shy away” from the need to make “difficult decisions” and that the budget being proposed had been designed to place the council in a “solid fiscal position”.
Statutory services, such as burials, which were previously subsidised by the council and the cost of providing these services, will now be covered by the overall fees.
These fees cover the purchase of the lair (grave), preparation of the lair for the burial, backfilling of the lair and laying out of flowers once the burial is over. Burial fees are higher for non-residents as they don’t pay Council Tax to Aberdeenshire Council.
The council also revealed that customers can purchase a lair and book and interment without using an undertaker, although undertakers can purchase the lair and the interment on a family’s behalf and will include these fees in their invoice.
There are in excess of 200 burial grounds in Aberdeenshire managed and maintained by the council. Additionally, there are further 13 private burial grounds where interments can be arranged.
