Burial costs rocket in South Lanarkshire

This angry allegation has been made by two of the area’s veteran undertakers, one of whom claims there is now a deliberate policy to steer local folk away from burials in favour of cremations as part of a cost-cutting strategy.

The row was sparked by the issuing of South Lanarkshire Council’s new burial charges, showing the price of a cemetery lair rising from £349 to £591 and the cost of a basic burial shooting up from £335 to £553.

Said Andrew Ironside, an undertaker in Biggar for 22 years: “I’ve calculated that the rise in buying a lair is 69 per cent and in interments is 65 per cent. They just can’t justify rises of that sort. They are absolutely exorbitant.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The proposed burial service charges reflect a review of our neighbouring authorities and of Scottish councils in general where it was found that our charges were lower.”

For more information on this story, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette which is in the shops now.