Highland council seeks purchase of new land for cemetery

The highland council has announced that it is actively seeking to purchase land to expand the cemetery in Fort William.

The local authority stated that the current burial site Glen Nevis cemetery could reach capacity in two years.

It has launched an appeal to landowners within a 15km (9.3mi) radius and is seeking at least 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) of land that does not have any peat or immediate rock within its net area.

The development of a new burial ground takes approximately 18-24 months to prepare, which means preparation of any new site would ideally start in February 2023 and at the latest July 2023.

This would allow the continuation of burials in the Fort William area beyond the capacity being reached at Glen Nevis.

Cllr Kate Willis, Lochaber area committee chair, said: “Members are aware of the growing concern over the lack of capacity in our burial ground at Glen Nevis, Fort William, which communities continue to contact us about. The reality being that there is approximately 2.5 years of new lairs available and despite best efforts, no alternative location in the Fort William area has been found.

“To mitigate the diminishing burial ground capacities, Council Officers are actively reviewing locations to acquire new land suitable for the development of burial ground extensions, or in some cases new burial grounds and encourage open discussions with landowners to assist in identifying land that could be purchased to allow for burials to continue in Fort William beyond 2025.”