A Grave Situation

So Edinburgh is the most expensive place to die in Britain. Brilliant, another valuable selling point from the roadwork capital of Scotland.

Apparently it costs £1600 for a funeral in Edinburgh and only £950 in Surrey. That £1600 doesn’t include the cost of cremation and burial: for that the council charges the highest prices anywhere outside London.

Gordon Greenhill at Edinburgh council had this to say: “”Burial and cremation costs in the city reflect the high land values in Edinburgh and the cost of providing a quality service. The fees enable the council to continue to maintain and conserve our 39 cemeteries and graveyards. In Edinburgh, we maintain grave sites in perpetuity, whereas in some authorities, it is time-limited.”

Which is a nice sentiment but may come as news to the people who remember that only a couple of years ago the council was knocking gravestones flat because it didn’t have the money to make sure they were safe.

And all this comes the day after the council turned down a funding bid to regenerate the city’s oldest and most historic graveyards. So, Mr Greenhill what exactly does “in perpetuity” mean?