High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Act 2021

22 Burial grounds U.K.

(1) Nothing in any enactment relating to burial grounds and no obligation or restriction imposed under ecclesiastical law or otherwise has effect to prohibit, restrict or impose any condition on the use of any land comprised in a burial ground for the purpose of constructing any of the works authorised by this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the use of the land for that purpose would involve disturbing human remains which are buried in it, unless the remains and any monument to the deceased have been dealt with in accordance with Schedule 20.

(3) In this section and Schedule 20—

• “burial ground” means—

  (a)

  a churchyard, cemetery or other ground, whether consecrated or not, which has at any time been set apart for the purposes of burial, and

  (b)

  any other place of burial;

• “monument” includes a tombstone or other memorial; and references to a monument to a person are to a monument commemorating that person, whether alone or with any other person.