Angus Council restricts advance lairs sales amid burial plot shortage
According to information on the council’s cemeteries, 10 out of a total of 72 cemeteries are already full, and four have less than a decade of provision remaining
Angus Council has restricted the advance sales of lairs in some cemeteries, as the local authority’s burial grounds have less than 10 years of provisions left.
According to information on the council’s cemeteries, 10 out of a total of 72 cemeteries are already full, and four have less than a decade of provision remaining. Included in this number is one of the district’s largest burial grounds – Western Cemetery in Arbroath.
In addition, the south-west of the district has also run out of available space.
As a result of the shortage, Angus Council will have to find new land to bury those who pass away in the region.
The council has also taken to monitoring the remaining space at all cemeteries.
A council spokesperson said: “All 72 public cemeteries and churchyards have been audited using the open space quality audit to provide an overall picture of current service provision. 13 of these churchyards are now closed to burials. Ten burial grounds have no new lairs available and only accommodate re-opens.
“We recently opened extensions to our cemeteries in Kirriemuir and Aberlemno and are currently looking to acquire new sites to maintain burial capacity in the south west of Angus.”
They added: “We will also consider the reclamation of unused lairs when the Burials and Cremations Scotland Act is fully implemented.”
While the council had plans to solve the Arbroath issue with an extension near the Western Cemetery, council chiefs admitted that the land was “unsuitable” in 2019.