THE cost of City of York Council burials has increased by 50 per cent in the last two years, new figures have shown.

An investigation by a national newspaper looked at burial costs at councils around the country, and found that the current cost of burial in York’s Dringhouses Cemetery was £525, up £175 from 2009, making it the seventh-highest increase in the UK.

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said although the cost had increased, the fee was among the lowest in the country.

Other costs for burial by the council include £95 for a headstone, plus £58 for an inscription. A cremation costs £665. To inter cremated remains, the council charges £160, but also £320 for the plot, with receptacles for storing the ashes including a £10 cardboard box, a £30 urn, and a £52 casket.

James Player, deputy chief officer of Age Concern York, said the rising costs were an unnecessary worry for the elderly.

He said: “No one likes to talk about those things, but older people, traditionally, are very honourable and like to make sure things are taken care of, and there’s no financial burden on the loved ones they leave behind.”

Dick Haswell, head of licensing and bereavement services at the council, said: “City of York Council’s burial fees are among the lowest in the country. The council manages one cemetery in the city, at Dringhouses, which has been closed for new graves for many years. However, the cemetery still provides for the burial of cremated remains and the opening of existing graves to bury other family members, which averages about one per year. Each year, the council reviews its burial fees. In previous years the fees have not covered the costs involved in this process. This year’s fees were increased to redress this issue, but still remain among the lowest in the country.”