Private Acts of Parliament (Alive and Kicking)

The ability of any individual or company to promote their own legislation has always been part of the British constitution.  In the 18^th century, it was private acts of parliament which enclosed our common land.  It was 18^th century private legislation which created our network of canals and later on, the railway system which we use today.  It was also Victorian private legislation which enabled the laying out of the first commercial cemeteries, to meet the increasing demands for burial space, which hitherto had to be accommodated within over-full parish churchyards.  One of those first private acts of parliament created Kensal Green Cemetery, which is still in use today.  But don’t think that private legislation has fallen into disuse.

Within the past five years, we have seen private legislation promoted by the owners of cemeteries to increase the availability of burial space, by enabling the owners of those cemeteries to reclaim unused burial space and offer it for resale to other bereaved families.  It is a facility already afforded to cemeteries owned by London Boroughs.  The first of these, second wave, Acts of Parliament was the New Southgate Cemetery Act 2017, promoted by owners, Westerleigh.  This was followed in 2022 by the Highgate Cemetery Act.  Now going through Pariament in 2023 is the Bishop’s Stortford Cemetery Bill, which is the first private cemetery legislation to be promoted in living memory by a local authority outside of London.  We can also be sure that Bishop’s Stortford will not be the last private cemetery bill, until parliament legislates to give all cemetery owners the right to reclaim and make best use of unused burial space to meet the needs of the wider community.

Essential Law for Cemetery and Crematorium Managers published in 2021 and commissioned by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management is, as far as we know, the only up-to-date legal textbook on cemetery and crematorium law.  The standard reference book on the subject had previously been Davies Law of Burial and Cremation.  But that hasn’t been published for nearly 20 years and, as far as we know, no further edition has yet been scheduled. In the meantime, our Essential Law book fills the gap.