memorial Woodlands

from Direct Local South Gloucestershire Magazine June 2020

Great Western Air Ambulance

MEMORIAL WOODLANDS MOVE TOWARDS LARGER FUNERAL SERVICES

Bristol Memorial Woodlands is now able to offer larger scale funeral services depending on the number of households involved.

Congregations of between 20 and 30 people can now be accommodated in the chapel and rooms at the woodland burial grounds near Alveston, just outside of Bristol, with careful planning to keep households separate.

In keeping with the guidance, which is under constant review, Bristol Memorial Woodlands has been able to arrange for the required spacing to be possible in its chapel. The funeral directors, working with each family, are able to ensure that social distancing between different households can be maintained during services while allowing the maximum number of people to attend.

Christopher Baker, who founded Bristol Memorial Woodlands, where a woodland nature reserve is being created with trees planted in memory of those buried there, said: “For some weeks now we have been restricted to a maximum of 10 people at a funeral but the relaxing of regulations and with planning over seating we can now accommodate between 20 and 30 people, depending on the households involved.

“Throughout the pandemic we have been offering people an opportunity to come back later in the year to have a memorial service after a small-scale burial service. The time is not yet right for us to start booking those services but we can offer some comfort to those organising a funeral now. “It has been terribly distressing for families not being able to say goodbye properly to their loved ones. In many parts of the country there are still funerals taking place with nobody in attendance and with churches closed and many crematoria not permitting congregations to enter, others having restricted space and time slots, families need to find a place to grieve and say a proper goodbye.

“The great comfort that we can offer is that the woodlands will be here for all time, managed by our charitable trust, so people will be able to come back in the future, gather under the trees near their loved one, picnic and remember lives well lived.”

Bristol Memorial Woodlands contains dedicated Muslim and Jewish burial grounds and are also supporting those communities through the current restrictions.

More information on the new half day funerals can be obtained by calling Luke on 01454 414999 or Ella, at Westbury-on-Trym, on 0117 9504100. You may wish to email: admin@memorialwoodlands. com or admin@mwfuneraldirectors.com

Visit: www.memorialwoodlands.com or www.mwfuneraldirectors.com

websites.co.uk

BUILD NOW PAY LATER...

Need to get online with your business? No problem we can help with packages designed just for you. Contact us for our latest offers today! WE ARE HERE TO HELP THE LOCAL BUSINESSES OF BRISTOL

STRANDED BABIES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR UK LAW REFORM

A specialist in modern family law says current UK surrogacy laws need a major reform in light of the news that dozens of babies are stranded abroad after being born to surrogate mothers during the coronavirus crisis.

Sarah Wood-Heath says the heartbreaking reality that intended parents are unable to travel to their newborn babies in other countries, highlights how the outdated laws in the UK are letting parents down.

Sarah, a partner at national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP, said: “It is a sad fact that a lot of people who are trying to start a family via a surrogate in this country feel like they have no choice but to go abroad to complete the process.

“In the UK it is very difficult to find a surrogate outside of your family and friendship group as commercial surrogacy arrangements are not legal. This means that you cannot pay someone to be your surrogate (only reasonable expenses). It also means you are unable to advertise that you are looking for a surrogate and a surrogate is unable to advertise themselves.

“There is also no binding contract between the surrogate and the intended parents which leads to a lot of unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty on both sides. Furthermore, the surrogate (and her partner) are recognised as the legal parents of the child until the intended parents obtain a parental order from the Court following the birth.

“For those who feel uncomfortable and vulnerable with the position in the UK or who don’t have a friend or family member willing to carry their baby the options are few and far between and so they look to foreign jurisdictions. In a lot of foreign countries the rules are more relaxed, they allow commercial surrogacy and some have an established legal process recognising the intended parents as the legal parents at birth.”

14 The USA is a popular surrogacy hotspot as commercial surrogacy is legal in most states but the high cost of the process here means it is often prohibitive to intended parents. As a result countries like Ukraine have become increasingly popular, where treatment is more affordable but there are less regulations.

“There are advantages but also risks to choosing surrogacy abroad and it adds complications to an already difficult and stressful situation, not least having to obtain travel documents to get the baby home once it is born. I have had clients who have been stuck abroad for months after the birth of their child,” said Sarah.

“Of course, nobody could foresee this current situation but it does bring into stark reality the existing concerns family lawyers have about both our system and the systems in other countries.

“The Law Commission is currently reviewing our surrogacy laws which is a really welcome development and I hope that the system is updated to reflect modern family living and to help couples achieve their goals of starting a family as much as possible and make the path easier here in the UK.

“We must remember that at the heart of this are parents who have usually been on a torrid and fraught journey of infertility to get to this point and who desperately want to grow their family.

“The anxiety of the intended parents whose babies are thousands of miles away must be phenomenal so I hope that the government will step in soon and class their journeys as essential travel so the families can be united.”

Sarah’s comments come after it was reported that over 50 babies are stranded at one Ukraine clinic and are now being cared for by nurses at a nearby hotel. Sarah Wood-Heath is a partner and expert in specialist family law, helping clients build and create their families. Her specialisms include surrogacy, donor conception and co-parenting agreements.

REFRESH YOUR TIRED KITCHEN by just swapping the doors and worktops

Before

From the UK’s #1 Kitchen makeover experts.

• Excellent reputation • From simple door replacements to fully fitted kitchens • Choose from a wide range of quality doors, worktops, appliances, sinks & taps • Installed quickly and cleanly by our own local professional fitters in just a few days

www.dreamdoors.co.uk