Farm locations are rarely overlooked by adjoining properties, hence why burial within the vicinity of a farm is unlikely to offend neighbours or the wider public. The grave site has to be on land with a deep water table, and far enough away from any watercourses so as not to pose a pollution threat. Electrical or other services must also be avoided.

A limited number of burials over a period of time is unlikely to constitute a “change of use” meaning no planning approval is necessary.

Information submitted by the Natural Death Centre states: “Recent local authority Certificates of Lawfulness have decided that planning permission is not required for the non-commercial burial, on private land, of a limited number of family, friends or those living in the house. These decisions have not been tested in the courts. The Department of the Environment is more cautious, and accept merely that planning permission is not required for the burial of one or two persons in back gardens.”