Would you share your grave with a stranger?

A recommendation by the Law Commission has suggested re-using grave plots which are more than 75 years old to help cope with overcrowding in cemeteries and churchyards in a proposed shake-up to 170-year-old legislation.

It is not something we like to think about very often, but all of us will need a final resting place when we die and we are running out of space in many public cemeteries.

Some sites in cities like London and Bristol have already reached full capacity, with plots in popular areas costing up to £10,000. A new report by the Law Commission, which is open for consultation until 9th January 2025, says older burial grounds like churchyards and some Victorian cemeteries that were previously declared full, may need to be reopened for burials.

It even suggests allowing old grave plots to be dug up and re-used to make room for new occupants on top.

Watch Nick Smith's report:

While the re-use of graves may seem bizarre, the practice is permitted in London Boroughs and may be given the green-light elsewhere in the country. The Law Commission recommends letting at least 75 or 100 years pass before a grave is disturbed. The older remains would be buried deeper in the plot rather than moved.

There is also a suggestion that relatives of the deceased may be able to veto this for at least 25 years if a grave of a loved one is earmarked for reburial.

The law on burial and cremation in England and Wales, which in parts is over 170 years old, currently forbids disturbing remains unless for some very specific reasons such as criminal investigation or to allow family members to be buried in the same plot.

Mike Birkinshaw from the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) said:

"Thousands of cemeteries up and down the country probably closed to burials for the last 70 or 80 years.

That's creating a problem already, because you can't be buried in them, that creates pressure is on those that are open, and they're filling rapidly.

The proposal is extending what already is able to happen in London Boroughs. To excavate a grave, as long as there hasn't been a burial in it for 75 years.

Take whatever remains are left, and place those much deeper within that grave space. Creating a whole empty, new, double sized grave in most cases."

Professor Nick Hopkins, Commissioner for Property, Family and Trust Law said,

“Our proposals provide a significant opportunity to reform burial and cremation law and secure burial space for future generations. This must be done sensitively and with wider public support, which is why we want to hear from those with a view.”

The proposals by the Law Commission have also suggest a wider reform of burial and cremation law such as giving funeral directors the right to scatter or bury ashes which go uncollected by families. Currently they have no legal right to do so, even if they go uncollected for years.

There is also a suggestion to reform burial on private land. At the moment, those who bury a person on private property are under no obligation to inform a new owner if the land is sold.

While the proposals suggest amending laws on burial plots, around 80% of people are cremated when they die, showing a shift from the 1960s when the figure was around 30% according to government data.

However, there is a growing interest in opting for burials again, especially natural burials as more people become conscious of the CO2 produced by the cremation process. An average adult cremation produces around 400kg of greenhouse gases, that's the equivalent of a 500 mile car journey (CDS Group figures).

A natural burial involves someone being buried in a shallower plot, without a coffin to allow for a quicker decomposition. Often they are situated in wildflower meadows or woodland where the deceased can contribute to nature.

Emma Restall Orr is Founder and Director of Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground and Nature Reserve in Warwickshire, she said:

"There are nearly 2, 000 people buried here. We're not competing with the old cemeteries.

What we're offering is a new way of burial.It's environmentally sustainable and it's socially valuable. Also, we are laying people to rest in a way where they will never be disturbed in a hundred years time. It is owned by a charity and will still be looked after as a place of burial and, most importantly, a nature reserve."

After the consultation ends, the Law Commission will present it's renewed suggestions to the government in late 2025.

Alex Davies-Jones, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice said,

“The Government is supportive of the Law Commission’s work and would encourage the public to take the time to respond to this consultation paper. We await with interest the Law Commission’s recommendations, in due course, on the most appropriate framework to provide modern, consistent regulation for burial and cremation.”