8:28am Monday 6th September 2010
By Juliette Astrup
BURIAL space in Poole could run out in months and the cash-strapped council can’t afford a new cemetery.
There are just 50 plots remaining at Parkstone and Broadstone cemeteries – the only council cemeteries currently in use for earth burials. They are expected to be exhausted in six months to a year.
The council is considering squeezing in extra graves at cemeteries deemed full more than 20 years ago. It is investigating moving remains to reuse plots and burying the dead on top of existing graves.
Plans for a new cemetery at the Moortown Aerodrome site, Magna Road, were shelved when £250,000 in funding was withdrawn earlier this year.
The alternatives have been outlined in a report which comes before the environment overview and scrutiny committee today.
It recommends reopening Poole and Branksome cemeteries, which were closed in the 1980s, and using the grassy pathways and decorative areas for additional burial plots – providing three to five years worth of burial space. This has already been done at the other two cemeteries.
A new cemetery or reclaiming or reusing burial spaces are longer term options also on the table.
Only around 50 people per year are buried in Poole.
The vast majority are cremated.
But if the space runs out, bereaved residents who want an earth burial may have to look outside of the area, where they face much higher costs.
Non-residents in Bournemouth, for example, pay double.
There are also private cemeteries available such as Tapper Funeral Services’ Harbour View woodland burial ground.
The rector of Poole, the Rev Bob Mason, told the Daily Echo there were some concerns among his parishioners at St James’. “I think the families that one deals with here are quite anxious about it.
“Word has got to them that there’s a bit of a crisis and they’re worried,” he said.
He supported utilising all available space at the two closed cemeteries before the council considers reusing grave plots, to avoid causing “offence or upset”.
But Steven Tapper, a managing director of Tapper Funeral services, said creating new plots at closed cemeteries risked upsetting families turned away from them in the past.
“There are a lot of people who have been buried elsewhere but their families have connections with Branksome Cemetery.
“It’s a bitter pill for them to swallow,” he added.
He also questioned the reuse or reclamation of graves, adding: “I’m not sure how our clients would take the thought of having a second-hand grave.”
Cllr Peter Adams, cabinet member for leisure and culture at the Borough of Poole, said officers were required to “present all options” to the committee, but the “immediate recommendation is to reopen Branksome and Poole cemeteries and utilise all available space”.
He added: “In the very improbable case the council cannot develop a new facility, regretfully alternative options must be considered.
“Re-interment would only be considered on unmarked graves and graves where the headstone has been removed due to safety reasons.” Crematorium and cemetery fees were increased by 10 per cent in Poole on September 1.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thisisdorset.net/trade_directory/