Memorial safety inspections

The memorial has been identified as unstable following a safety inspection.

Norwich City Council has a legal duty to make sure memorials within its cemeteries are safe for visitors, staff and contractors. 

As part of this year’s programme, the council appointed a specialist contractor to carry out inspections on its behalf. Trained personnel gently apply up to 25kg of pressure to a memorial to check its stability. This is a widely recognised, non-invasive method used to identify memorials that may be unsafe.

The grave owner, also known as the holder of the Exclusive Right of Burial, is responsible for maintaining the memorial.

If a memorial has been identified as unstable, the grave owner must arrange for it to be repaired by an accredited stonemason or removed if preferred.

Please note that Norwich City Council will not receive any income from this process. 

Under cemetery regulations, memorials should also be insured.

If you are not the registered grave owner, or if the registered owner has died, you may need to apply to transfer ownership before any work can be carried out.

More information can be found here:
Transfer grave deeds and how to apply for a memorial.

Please only arrange repairs if you are the registered grave owner.

If you are you will need to contact an accredited stonemason of your choice who works to BRAMM Blue Book guidelines.

All memorials installed within Norwich City Council cemeteries must meet the British Safety Standard.

More information about memorial regulations and responsibilities can be found here:
Transfer grave deeds and how to apply for a memorial.

We kindly ask that repairs to unstable or unsafe memorials are completed within 6 to 12 months from the date of our first communication.

Each case will be considered individually.

Where a memorial is considered extremely unsafe and poses a serious risk to visitors or staff, the council may need to lay the memorial flat or remove it from the site to make the area safe.

As the council still has a legal duty to carry out these inspections, a specialist contractor has been appointed to complete the work on its behalf. This allows a dedicated team to carry out inspections across the cemetery more efficiently.

The contractor’s approach uses a yellow tag and band to clearly identify unstable memorials to visitors.

We understand that seeing memorials with yellow tags, or laid flat, can be distressing. However, these measures are necessary to help protect the safety of everyone visiting the cemetery.

If your questions are not answered by the FAQs and the other information on this page or on our news update you can email us on  bereavementservices@norwich.gov.uk or call us on 01603 989650 (Monday - Friday, 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays).