Banbury family asked to remove decorations from grave after misunderstanding

The Francis family say they were ‘very upset’ to receive the letter from Banbury Town Council just months after burying their father Gordon.

However, the council insists that the family would have been told before the burial that they couldn’t place decorations at the grave because it was in the lawn section of the cemetery.

The council says that decorations like fences, pictures or lights can only be placed by graves in the general section of the cemetery.

Gordon’s son John said: “All we did was put some plastic fencing and some gravel in front of the headstone, a few solar panel lights and some flowers. It didn’t cover the whole grave and was just in front of the headstone.

“We were told that we couldn’t put anything in front of the headstone and that any decorations we wanted to put up had to be placed on the base of the headstone.

“It has broken our family in half we are all very upset.”

The family buried Gordon on July 4 last year and was informed about the mix-up over cemetery sections in November.

They have now removed the decorations but say that other graves in the same section of the cemetery still have lights and flowers on them.

John said: “There’s other graves near my dad’s grave that have lights and all sorts on them and nothing seems to have been done about it.

“We had a notice on the grave telling us that we weren’t allowed to put anything on it because it was the wrong section of the cemetery.

“We feel that we should be allowed to put what we want in front of our loved ones' grave because we have bought and paid for it.”

A spokesperson for the town council said: “The important difference between a lawn section grave plot and a general section grave plot is that general section plots provide an option for a headstone and a full kerb set maintained by the grave owner. Lawn sections come with only the headstone the grave itself has grass over it, which is maintained by the council.

“Within these lawn sections, concrete foundation beams were added for the headstones to be installed onto. The foundation beams also help with the stability of the headstones, preventing them from leaning.

“The council decided that minimising this health and safety risk was a top priority.”

The council says it extends ‘deepest sympathies to any distress caused to families’ but that the limitations would have been made clear.

A council spokesperson said: “Families who request to bury their loved ones in our cemeteries have the options and limitations explained to them when initial arrangements are made.

“These limitations include prevention of placing fencing, trees and memorials to be installed on the grassed area of the grave in front of the foundation.

“However, the council encourages the placing of memorials that can be fitted onto the foundation beam, and all dedicated items such as decorations, vases, pots, lights, and more can all be placed on this foundation.

“Families are also welcome to place extra dedicated items directly in front of the headstone at the top of the grave, providing them the space to mourn, remember and celebrate the lives of those that have passed.”