ABC Council looks set to suspend a policy which allows families to ‘book’ advanced burial plots at its cemeteries.
And the reason is because grave spaces available at its cemeteries are fast being used up.
The fear is that, given this information, there could be a further surge in sales which would add to existing pressures.
The council’s environment committee will tonight (Tuesday), be asked to suspend the policy as it looks toward planning to accommodate future burials within the borough.
The council is responsible for 15 cemeteries across Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, but only six of these are described as ‘active’.
And some of these are almost filled to capacity.
Forecasts show that three could reach that stage within the next six years.
Council will attempt to accommodate up to three burials per plot but only guarantees one per plot due to factors such as the presence of rock below ground or other operational reasons, such as the need to ‘hand dig’ a grave.
Currently, ABC Council permits the purchase of more than one plot when planning a burial allowing the creation of ‘family plots’, but advance sales are not permitted. This means that plots can only be purchased upon the death of an individual and not beforehand.
Statistics show an increasing number of burials per annum over the past decade or so, with 1,411 deaths recorded in 2011.
The population of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon was 218,656 at the time of the 2021 Census, which made it the second largest local government district.
This was an increase of 9.5% since the 2011 Census.
A report to committee advises: “Another factor worth bearing in mind is the fact that the borough is becoming increasingly diverse, with different communities having different needs when treating their deceased.
“This needs to be borne in mind when creating new cemeteries or expanding cemeteries close to large population bases.”
The cemeteries at Lurgan, Dromore and Richhill have limited numbers of burial plots remaining.
Lurgan is estimated to reach full capacity by 2030, Dromore in 2028 and Richhill in 2031.
At the January environment committee meeting, officers were granted permission to move forward with “due diligence studies required in order to plan extensions to all three cemeteries”.
The report adds: “Discussion with elected members and feedback from local clergy has indicated that burial space is becoming a growing concern across the denominations, with church burial grounds coming close to capacity, which will place additional burden on council-owned cemeteries.
“Council currently has a mechanism in place which permits the advance sale of burial plots in certain circumstances.
“Officers wish to suspend this practice, in order to extend the lifespan of council’s cemeteries. It is being suggested that the practice of advanced sales of burial plots be ceased.”
In ‘The Operation, Management & Control of Advanced Exclusive Right to Burial sales in Council’s Municipal Cemeteries’ Policy adopted in 2019, council undertook to set aside 10 years of burial space provision. These plots would be set aside to maintain service delivery of burials until the development of any extensions or new sites.
Five per cent of an annual allocation of remaining plots would be made available for reserved ‘Advanced Burial Right Sales’.
To help in this regard cemetery services only offer advanced exclusive right to burial sales via two restricted routes for borough residents only. These residents must be over the age of 66 years, or residents with a terminal illness diagnosis; life expectancy of less than 12 months.
There are 17 advanced sales since 2019 – one at Ballinahone in Armagh, three at The Orchard in Richhill, seven at Banbridge, one in Dromore, four at Kernan and one in Lurgan.
The report states: “The number of advance sales to date are not significant. However, there are concerns that with dwindling capacity at some of our cemeteries, there may be a surge in interest to avail of advance sales, where criteria apply, placing additional pressure on these sites.”
With that in mind, councillors are being asked to “approve the suspension” of its policy until a detailed review of council’s cemetery provision has been completed.
