The disturbance of human remains in burial grounds is to be allowed for the first time since the early Victorian era to deal with a shortage of graves, The Times has learnt.

Under a test scheme to begin in the new year, local authorities across the country will be allowed to exhume remains and rebury them deeper to create space for further burials on top. In some cases, new inscriptions will be added to the existing headstone to ensure that the heritage of the grave is not destroyed. Damaged or insignificant headstones would be removed and replaced with only the new name.

The move comes amid an acute shortage of burial grounds in London and other urban areas, where many cemeteries have already run out of space. It would also ease the difficulty of the disposal of bodies in the event of a pandemic.

Last year a government survey showed that burial grounds in England and Wales will become full in about 30 years. In the capital the shortage is more severe. At least three boroughs have run out of space and some cemeteries have less than a decade left.

Tim Morris, chief executive of the Institute of Cemeteries and Crematorium Management and a member of the Government's burial advisory body, said that only abandoned graves dating back more than 100 years would be considered for reburial under the new scheme.

“In the cities this is a serious problem and our cemeteries are just not sustainable,” he told The Times. “We need these powers across the country or we are going to have serious disposal problems.”

Until the 1850s, bodies were routinely removed from graves but the practice was forbidden in 1852.

If the experiment is successful and the Government agrees to change the law, it will amount to the biggest change in burial practices since cremation was introduced in 1902.

The preferred way of re-using graves would be a doubledecker-style approach, by lifting existing remains, deepening the grave and laying a new coffin on top.

In London alone, local councils have the powers to use available space in abandoned graves - without touching interred remains - if they are more than 75 years old and no living relatives object. Under new powers passed last year, also only in London, authorities can apply to disturb remains but only in private graves.

Mr Morris said, however, that the powers were rarely used because the vast majority of graves with space in the capital were public and could not be touched.

Across the rest of Britain, no interred remains can be touched at all. As shortages exist nationally, Mr Morris said that new powers were essential for every graveyard.

The City of London Authority, which runs a 200-acre cemetery in Manor Park, East London, has applied to be part of the Government's pilot scheme.

Ian Hussein, director of the authority's cemetery and crematorium division, said that the country's largest cemetery was rapidly running out of space and that the authority desperately needed the power to disturb public graves as they provided “acres and acres” of room.

“We are running out of room, it's as simple as that, unless they introduce legislation to allow re-use,” he said.

“It's primarily about space, but we also need to make sure that people have the option of an affordable burial in close proximity to their residence.”

Shortages of grave space are so severe in the capital that some councils are capitalising on their monopoly by charging non-residents a premium for burials. Some charge in excess of £1,000 each time.

In Tower Hamlets, the council offers residents a £225 subsidy to offset the cost of looking further afield for burial space. The East London borough has no space left underground.

In an attempt to conserve space, some boroughs accept only residents or people with a connection to the area for burial. Newham Council, in East London, uses this strategy but is still concerned about space once the City of London cemetery reaches capacity. While there are currently 1,000 available graves, a spokesman said that spaces would be taken up rapidly from the overflow.

Some councils outside the capital require grieving relatives to adhere to strict rules about the length of their plots. In Basildon, Essex, plot-holders were told that they could not extend their space for tributes more than 3ft (90cm), to allow space for footpaths in the cemetery.

Alan Fairchild, of the Society of Local Council Clerks and another member of the burial advisory board, said that re-use was needed to create more space underground but that any new powers would be exercised sensitively. Re-use would take place only if there were no objections from existing family members. Objections could also be made on grounds of religious practice.

“It's an important measure for us to be able to provide burial space throughout the country,” he said. “It's a very sustainable way of doing it.”

Of the 600,000 people who die every year in Britain, just under 30 per cent are buried.

Mr Morris said that public consultation over the past year had raised very few concerns.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice, which is overseeing the test scheme, said: “We are currently reviewing the next steps and expect to announce our plans in the new year.”

A pilot scheme would involve up to a dozen local authorities in both urban and rural areas across Britain. Any scheme is expected to take 18 months and will involve public consultation.

The history

— In the 1500s, with space at a premium, remains were disinterred and placed in a charnel house so that the churchyard could be reused

— In the Great Plague of 1665, mass graves were created. It is popularly believed that Blackheath, London, was so named because Black Death victims were buried there

— In the early 19th century space was so scarce that corpses were buried only 2ft down

— The 1852 Burial Act set up a national system of cemeteries. Urban churchyards presented such health hazards that suburban cemeteries were established

— Cremation was introduced in 1902

— Highgate Cemetery, North London, is the last resting place for many famous people, including Karl Marx, Christina Rossetti, George Elliot and Sir Ralph Richardson

The alternatives

Woodland burial
A tree is planted to mark a grave instead of a traditional headstone. There are 200 such woodlands in Britain

Burial in the garden
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs must be consulted on location to check risk to watercourses. A burial spot must be stated on the deeds of the property

Cryonics
A speculative life support technology where the body or just the brain is frozen until it becomes scientifically possible to give a “second life” to the deceased

Cremation
Ashes kept in an urn, scattered at sea, in gardens, at favourite location or turned into memorial diamonds

Burial at sea
A licence must be obtained from the Marine and Fisheries Agency, and the body must not be embalmed

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