Families will have the opportunity to change to a more traditional grave for their loved ones at a section of Reading Cemetery.

Plans to ‘grass over’ the graves at the Caversham cemetery left some families “unaware and upset”.

The graves are in lawned areas at the Reading Cemetery and Crematorium on Henley Road but some members of the Muslim community prefer earth graves, where they can plant flowers.

READ MORE: Plans to ‘grass over’ Muslim graves paused as some families 'unaware and upset'

Families with loved ones in this section will be offered the opportunity to pay to change their grave to a more traditional type after communication issues left some members of the community unaware of the type of grave planned for the section.

Green councillor Rob White, who represents Park ward, has given an update on the situation in his blog earlier this month, explaining the council’s decision.

What happened?

In 2018, the council identified that it was necessary to find an additional area for Muslim burials within the Henley Road Cemetery.

At that time, the only available location was in an area where graves are ‘laid to lawn’.

A meeting was held, and this was agreed by the Imam at the time.

Earlier this year, Reading Borough Council notified families of its plans to begin seeding work on the graves so that they fit in with the other graves in this part of the cemetery.

But when notice was given of the plans to ‘grass over’ the graves, families informed the council they were unaware this would happen and the council paused the work.

How is the issue being resolved?

Cllr White published the response from the council, which says the council will write to all grave owners with loved ones buried in that section, giving them the option to change the grave type to a traditional grave.

The decision to change grave type will only be able to be approved by the grave owner and the costs associated with this change will also be their responsibility.

Signs will also be placed near this section so that all loved ones are aware of this option.

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Grave owners will have a six-month period to confirm their preferred grave type and a further six months for stone sets to be implemented.

The council has written to the chair of each of the mosques in Reading with this message to confirm the position and hopes families who cannot afford to cover expenses but wish for a traditional grave will be “duly supported by the mosque communities”.

And the council has begun sending letters to grave owners.

RBC said information about the plans for the graves in this cemetery section “was not properly conveyed” by community representatives and outlined a series of initiatives to ensure this does not happen again.

These include:

  • Making sure communication via the website and leaflets is clear
  • Holding community engagement sessions with representatives from each of the Reading mosques and the Pakistani Community Centre, as well as Muslim councillors, the lead councillor for Corporate and Consumer Services and a representative from the council’s Bereavement Services management team
  • Sharing burial notices with grave owners as well as the licensee acting on behalf of the family.