Safety Inspections of Stockton Borough Cemeteries

Stockton Council's Care For Your Area (Highways) employ one cemeteries inspector who adheres to an inspection programme to ensure its cemeteries continue to be safe places to visit.

The inspection of over 25,000 memorials in the Borough's cemeteries and churchyards started on March 19th 2007. Memorial inspection was introduced following a number of accidents (some of which were fatal) in other parts of the country. Because of the accidents, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published guidelines that places an obligation on Council's to inspect and test each memorial within cemeteries and churchyards every five years.

An initial risk assessment estimated that around 6,000 memorials in the Borough could fail a full safety inspection. After we inspect each memorial our fully trained operatives will do whatever is appropriate to make it safe. It is Stockton Councils commitment to only lay a memorial flat as a last resort.