New Towns Act 1981

20 Consecrated land and burial grounds. E+W

(1) Any consecrated land, whether including a building or not, which has been acquired for the purposes of this Act by a development corporation or local highway authority, or which has been acquired under this Act by the Secretary of State, may, subject to this section—

(a) in the case of land acquired by such a corporation or authority, be used by them, or by any other person, in any manner in accordance with planning permission, and

(b) in the case of land acquired by the Secretary of State, be used in any manner by him or on his behalf for any purpose for which he acquired the land,

notwithstanding any obligation or restriction imposed under ecclesiastical law or otherwise in respect of consecrated land.

This subsection does not apply to land which consists or forms part of a burial ground.

(2) Any use of consecrated land authorised by subsection (1) above—

(a) shall be subject to compliance with the prescribed requirements with respect to the removal and reinterment of any human remains and the disposal of monuments and fixtures and furnishings, and

(b) shall be subject to such provisions as may be prescribed for prohibiting or restricting the use of the land, either absolutely or until the prescribed consent has been obtained, so long as any church or other building used or formerly used for religious worship, or any part of it, remains on the land,

and the use of any land, not being consecrated land, acquired as mentioned in subsection (1), which at the time of acquisition included a church or other building used or formerly used for religious worship, or its site, shall be subject to compliance with the requirements mentioned in paragraph (a) above.

(3) Any regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2) above—

(a) shall contain such provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be requisite for securing that any use of land which is subject to compliance with the regulations shall, as nearly as may be, be subject to the like control as is imposed by law in the case of a similar use authorised by an enactment not contained in this Act or by a Measure, or as it would be proper to impose on a disposal of the land in question otherwise than in pursuance of an enactment or Measure;

(b) shall contain requirements relating to the disposal of any such land as is mentioned in subsection (2) such as appear to the Secretary of State requisite for securing that the provisions of that subsection shall be complied with in relation to the use of the land; and

(c) may contain such incidental and consequential provisions (including provision as to the closing of registers) as appear to the Secretary of State to be expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(4) Any land consisting of a burial ground or part of a burial ground, which has been acquired as mentioned in subsection (1) may—

(a) in the case of land acquired by a development corporation or local highway authority, be used by them in any manner in accordance with planning permission, and

(b) in the case of land acquired by the Secretary of State, be used in any manner by him or on his behalf for any purpose for which he acquired the land,

notwithstanding anything in any enactment relating to burial grounds or any obligation or restriction imposed under ecclesiastical law or otherwise in respect of burial grounds.

(5) Subsection (4) above does not have effect in respect of any land which has been used for the burial of the dead until the prescribed requirements with respect to the removal and reinterment of human remains, and the disposal of monuments, in and upon the land have been complied with.

(6) Provision shall be made by any regulations for the purposes of subsections (2) and (5) above—

(a) for requiring the persons in whom the land is vested to publish notice of their intention to carry out the removal and reinterment of any human remains or the disposal of any monuments;

(b) for enabling the personal representatives or relatives of any deceased person themselves to undertake the removal and reinterment of the remains of the deceased, and the disposal of any monument commemorating the deceased, and for requiring the persons in whom the land is vested to defray the expenses of such removal, reinterment and disposal, not exceeding such amount as may be prescribed;

(c) for requiring compliance with such reasonable conditions (if any) as may be imposed, in the case of consecrated land, by the bishop of the diocese, with respect to the manner of removal, and the place and manner of reinterment of any human remains, and the disposal of any monuments, and with any directions given in any case by the Secretary of State with respect to the removal and reinterment of any human remains.

(7) Subject to any such regulations, no faculty shall be required—

(a) for the removal and reinterment in accordance with the regulations of any human remains, or

(b) for the removal or disposal of any monuments,

and section 25 of the M1 Burial Act 1857 (which prohibits the removal of human remains without the Secretary of State’s licence except in certain cases) does not apply to a removal carried out in accordance with the regulations.

(8) Any power conferred by this section to use land in the manner so provided shall be construed as a power so to use the land, whether it involves the erection, construction or carrying out of any building or work, or the maintenance of any building or work, or not.

(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising any act or omission on the part of any person which is actionable at the suit of any person on any grounds other than contravention of any such obligation, restriction or enactment as is mentioned in subsection (1) or subsection (4).

[F1 (10) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising any act or omission on the part of a development corporation or local highway authority, or of any body corporate, in contravention of any limitation imposed by law on their capacity by virtue of the constitution of the corporation, authority or body.]

(11) In this section—

• “burial ground” includes any churchyard, cemetery or other ground, whether consecrated or not, which has at any time been set apart for the purposes of interment; and

• “monument” includes a tombstone or other memorial.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 20(10) substituted (13.7.2016) by Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22), s. 216(3), Sch. 19 para. 5; S.I. 2016/733, reg. 3(m)

Marginal Citations

M1 1857 c. 81.