The cost of dying is about to go up in Dudley
The cost of dying will increase across Dudley from the new year – with burial and cremation charges set to rise by almost 10 per cent.
It will now cost almost £1,000 to bury an adult, as the cash-strapped council revealed its new bereavement charges for 2017.
Under the new fees that have been proposed, an adult burial would cost £975 – a rise of £72. The cost of a child burial will rise £14 to £194.
An adult cremation will increase from £752 to £812. Cremations for children will go up by £7 to £97.
The burial or cremation of a stillborn baby, or a baby aged under one month, will remain free under the plans.
Dudley Council leader Pete Lowe said earlier this year that funeral costs were expected to rise as the authority battles to meet its target of saving £25 million over the next three years.
Other charges are also set to increase, including the cost of memorials in cemeteries, which will increase by £20 to £276.
A memorial on a baby's grave will cost an extra £5 at £77. The council is aiming to make an extra half-a-million pounds from bereavement services up to 2020.
Bosses said they continue to be forced to make difficult decisions in order to make the necessary savings. They insist the council's financial position is a result of massive funding cuts from the Government over the last six years.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for planning and economic development at Dudley Council, said: "We pride ourselves on making sure people have the very best service when they need it, and are constantly looking to improve and invest.
"We have already invested £1million to upgrade cremation facilities at Gornal Wood Crematorium and last year we opened a new cemetery in Dudley at a considerable cost.
"The council will also need to spend in the region of £800,000 to upgrade facilities at Stourbridge Crematorium and we have a legal responsibility to take on the maintenance of closed churchyards, which clearly has a significant impact on budgets."
