Fulford Cemetery to be temporarily managed by City of York Council

Fulford Parish Council has managed Fulford Cemetery and provided burial services for residents across the City of York for many years. This has been an important service for bereaved York families, laying their loved ones to rest.

In recent years, there has been an increase in cremations and a trend away from bereaved families opting for burials, presenting significant financial challenges for the future of the service.

Fulford Parish Council said: “We welcome the constructive discussions we’ve had with City of York Council in recent months over the future of Fulford Cemetery. It has been a challenging time trying to establish a financially-sustainable service as people have increasingly opted for alternatives to burial at our site and other cemeteries across the country. A decision that provides immediate security for the future of the service is urgently needed as Fulford Parish Council is unable to financially support this city-wide service indefinitely.”

The operation of burial services by Fulford Parish Council is the result of a unique, historic agreement with City of York Council entered into in 1965 and, under an updated agreement between the Parish Council and City of York Council in 2006, Fulford Parish Council has had full responsibility for burials for the whole city, on behalf of the Council. Due to this agreement, any financial losses are a shared liability for both Councils.

Increasing burial costs, combined with the emerging popularity of low-cost no-service cremations, have resulted in increasing numbers of people opting for alternatives to burials.

Following detailed discussions between the two Councils, City of York Council is now providing assistance to secure the long-term future of Fulford Cemetery and burial services for York.

This involves the temporary management of Fulford Cemetery until August 2026, in order to stabilise the finances of the burials service for the city and determine future management arrangements for this vital service. This will be done once relevant legal processes have been completed and until an alternative long-term management solution and agreement is identified, considered and approved.

The two Councils encourage everyone with an interest in the future management arrangements of Fulford Cemetery, including those with loved ones buried there, to share their views on the longer-term future of managing the cemetery at shapingneighbourhoods@york.gov.uk before 1 September 2025. These views will feed into a report to be discussed later this year.

Fulford Parish Council and City of York Council are acutely aware of the importance of this site to the families of loved ones buried there, a key reason why action is being taken now to secure the site for generations to come.  

The Council is working with the Parish Council and a volunteer group to coordinate two action days at the Cemetery in July, which will include grass cutting and other jobs to benefit the site. Anyone interested in this, or other similar volunteering opportunities, are warmly invited to email environmentandcommunity@york.gov.uk.