Funeral costs at Easthampstead Park could rise by around £100 for burials or cremations next year, council plans have revealed.

Proposals suggest the minimum cost of a burial at Easthampstead Park cemetery could rise to £2,750 from April 2024 – up from £2,650 currently. And the minimum cost of a cremation could go up by £95 – from £955 currently to £1,045 next year.

Bracknell Forest Council, which owns Easthampstead Park Cemetery and Crematorium, said the proposed price rises reflect the costs of maintaining the grounds.

Damian James, the council’s assistant director for contract services, said: “The costs in 2024/25 reflect the impact the increased cost of services and supplies have on cremations and burials.

“The costs associated with burials cover the initial act of burial but more significantly a requirement (on the burial authority) to suitably maintain the burial grounds.”

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The proposed £100 increase in the price of a burial will come entirely from the cost of reserving a plot for £75 years - £1,400 next year, up from £1,300 currently. That’s an increase of 7.7 per cent. However the price of the burial itself will stay the same at £1,350.

Mr James said that when this is taken into account the increase is only 3.8 per cent, which is below inflation.

But additional costs could make a funeral even pricier. The fee for a casket shaped grave is set to rise from £400 to £420. And the charge for a right to erect a memorial will go up from £185 to £200.

Meanwhile the cost of a cremation in one of Easthampstead Park’s two chapels will rise from £955 to £1,045 for a 45 minute service.

But weekend services will be more expensive – rising from £1,400 to £1,535 between 10am and 3pm on a Saturday, and from £1,845 to £2,025 for the same times on a Sunday.

Mr James said more information about paying for funerals and the support available can be found on Bracknell Forest Council’s website.

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The suggested price rises are included in the council’s proposed budget for the next financial year, running April 2024 – April 2025.

Bracknell Forest’s executive committee – its leading group of councillors – approved the draft proposals on Tuesday, December 12.

Residents are now set to be asked for their view as part of a consultation. And councillors on Bracknell Forest’s overview and scrutiny committee will also get a chance to make suggestions.

The executive committee will then agree a final budget in February next year, which will then have to be approved at a meeting of all councillors later that month.