The Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977

Maintenance of graves, etc.: removal of memorials and levelling, etc

16.—(1) A burial authority may—

(a) put and keep in order any grave or vault, or any tombstone or other memorial, in a cemetery; and

(b) level the surface of any grave, consisting wholly or substantially so of earth or grass, to the level of the adjoining ground.

In respect of any grave levelled by them in exercise of the powers set out in (b), the burial authority may, and shall if so requested in writing by—

the owner of a right described in article 10(1)(a)(i) or (ii) in respect of the grave; or

a relative of any person buried in the grave,

provide at their own expense such identification mark as they consider adequate.

(2) A burial authority may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3—

(a) remove from the cemetery and destroy—

(i) any tombstone or other memorial on a grave of which all material particulars are illegible or which is dilapidated by reason of long neglect;

(ii) any kerbs surrounding a grave (whether containing any commemorative inscription or not) together with the foundation slabs of such kerbs;

(iii) any tombstone or other memorial, not falling within (i) or (ii), on a grave, except where the owner of the right to place and maintain it in the cemetery has, before the date specified in the notice under paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 as the date before which the carrying out of the proposals will not be commenced, requested that it shall be re-erected in the cemetery or elsewhere;

(iv) any surface fittings not falling within (i), (ii) or (iii), or any flowering or other plants, on a grave; and

(v) any railings surrounding a grave, a tombstone or other memorial on a grave or a grave space;

(b) alter the position on a grave of, or re-erect at another place in the cemetery or elsewhere, any tombstone or other memorial on a grave;

(c) level the surface of any grave, other than a grave described in paragraph (1)(b), to the level of the adjoining ground;

(d) alter the position of any railings surrounding a grave or vault, a tombstone or other memorial or a grave space;

(e) re-erect at another place in the cemetery a memorial other than one on a grave or vault or in a chapel provided as mentioned in article 6(1)(b).

Any reference to a grave in (a), (b) or (c) or in Schedule 3 other than paragraph 1 thereof includes a reference to a vault constructed wholly or substantially so below the level of the ground adjoining the vault.