The fees for burials and cremations on the Isle of Wight are going up again – from anywhere between five and ten per cent.
It is one of the changes made by the Isle of Wight Council in its latest budget.
Rising fees
While the use of the organ will be as little as £1 extra, a weekend service for an adult’s burial will rise £125, from £2,314 to £2,439.
The cost of burying an adult, during the week, will increase by £66 (from £1,215 to £1,281) while fees for a service have increased 43 per cent since 2016/17. It cost £898 six years ago.
Cremations
A cremation, including the use of the organ and a biodegradable urn, will cost £55 more, rising from £1,010 to £1,065.
The cost of just a basic cremation, with no service nor guests, will rise 10.5 per cent, from £550 to £608. Since 2019, fees have risen 35 per cent, from £450.
The increase in fees will take effect from 1st April.
12 per cent over two years
Last year, under a Conservative administration, fees and charges rose by seven per cent, meaning over the past two years costs will have increased roughly around 12 per cent.
The move in 2021/22 was condemned by then opposition councillors as ‘a Tory plan to rip off the bereaved’ and ‘scandalous’.
Some charges will now stand at:
- Purchasing a full burial plot £898 — up £46
- Use of chapel £189 — up £10
- Burial of cremated remains £353 — up £18
- Burial of cremated remains, at the weekend £706 — up £36
- Adult extended service at the crematorium £1,163 — up £30
Since 2016/17, fees for the cremation of an adult have gone up more than 50 per cent on the Island, from £644 to £974.
Live streaming fees
The changes will be in addition to the introduction of a new £55 fee for the live streaming of funeral services held at the Isle of Wight Crematorium.
As part of this year’s budget, Islanders also face a 2.99 per cent increase in council tax, with one per cent going directly towards adult social care.
There are also increases in the amounts we pay for the police and fire services as well.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
