GRIEVING families in York are paying more than £360 for memorials to their loved ones – despite their local council buying them for £66.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that small granite discs placed on top of the ashes of those who have died at York Crematorium cost the public £363 each – £297 more than City of York Council pay.

Residents who buy the six-inch discs must also pay an extra £95 if they want them to remain after five years, and a York charity which provides advice and support for bereaved families says it has concerns about the price difference.

The authority says money raised from the sale of the memorials is invested in the crematorium, which is undergoing a £1.7 million refurbishment.

It buys the discs from Hull-based specialists The Columbaria Company, with VAT of 20 per cent and £10 “carriage” costs added to the £66 basic price.

The figures were obtained by York resident David Wardell, who described the costs as “very excessive”.

He said: “I felt people should be made fully aware of the costs involved. I would not mind paying £363 as long as the disc is then placed there forever, but you then have to make another payment after five years. I don’t see why people should have to keep paying again and again.

“It’s not right because the crematorium belongs to the people of York and we should not have to keep paying for what is basically the lease of a bit of grass.

“The council has said there are maintenance costs, but I cannot see there is any maintenance involved.”

James Player, deputy chief officer for Age UK York, said: “My first impression is that it seems to be rather a high mark-up in price and I would be concerned for people who have limited means.

“It is a lot of money these days, for older people in particular, and especially in terms of what these memorials cost the council in the first place.”

The council said all memorials, apart from the Book of Remembrance, were sold on a lease basis and this was in line with other public and private crematoriums.

Steve Waddington, the authority’s assistant director for housing and community safety, said: “We sell some 60 five-year leases a year and the initial charge includes the disc and associated administration, ground works to secure the disc and fortnightly maintenance of it and the crematorium grounds in which it sits.

“The continuation of the lease allows for an income stream to reinvest in the grounds.”