A cemetery now charges mourners for VIP passes to visit relatives, aiming to protect grave sites from unwanted visitors.
A cemetery in the UK has stirred up controversy by introducing a system that requires mourners to pay for a VIP pass to visit their loved ones’ graves.
This decision has raised eyebrows and sparked strong reactions from grieving families who feel the new policy is unfair.
Cemetery charges mourners for VIP passes to ensure security.
The Garden of Remembrance, located in Stoke-on-Trent, will start charging for access beginning January 1, 2025.
According to cemetery officials, the purpose of the VIP pass is to enhance security and ensure the safety of visitors.
They claim electric gates will protect the cemetery, opening and closing automatically during set hours.
The cemetery allows visitors without a VIP pass to enter only during regular office hours, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
This means they will not be able to visit on weekends or bank holidays.
“From January 2025 this site will be protected by electric gates.
The gates at the front of the site will open and close automatically at set times,” a notice stated outside the cemetery reads.
“Entrance to the cemetery will be via a VIP pass making the site secure for our staff, families and visitors.
Please ensure you have your pass in good time for the New Year.”
The cemetery outlines pricing and access policies clearly for visitors.
The cemetery charges £10 (around $12) for access to the rose garden and £5 (about $6) for visiting a grave.
There is some confusion about whether these fees are one-time charges or if visitors will need to pay each time they enter.
They has not clarified this detail, leaving many families uncertain about the costs involved.
Families express outrage over the cemetery’s controversial VIP access policy.
Grieving relatives have expressed their outrage over this new policy.
Many feel that charging for access to a loved one’s grave is disrespectful and insensitive.
Jode Bourne expressed her frustration on social media about her father buried in the cemetery.
She called it a disgrace, stressing families shouldn’t pay fees to visit their deceased relatives in the cemetery.
“Now I need to pay a membership fee to visit my dad’s grave,” Jode Bourne, whose father Mark Bourne is buried in the grounds, wrote on Facebook.
“This is an absolute disgrace. Shame on you Garden of Remembrance.”
Cemetery owner defended this decision over critics
The cemetery’s owner, Jason Taft, defended the decision, stating that the security upgrades were necessary.
He mentioned spending £8,000 (approximately $10,000) on improvements to ensure the cemetery remains safe.
Taft claimed the VIP pass ensures visitor security, emphasizing it’s about safety, not exclusion, within the cemetery grounds.
Key cards let families visit loved ones until 9 p.m., extending access beyond the cemetery’s regular closing hours.
“There are 1,300 graves there and we could not send that many keys out so people can come and get a card if they want one,” Taft stated.
“We are not locking people out and this gives them access to the cemetery until 9 p.m. when we would normally be closed.”