New Forest District Council cemeteries in Lymington and Sway forecast to run out of space next year
PUBLIC cemeteries in Lymington and Sway are forecast to run out of space for new burials next year.
New Forest District Council is now drawing up plans to meet the demand elsewhere by trying to secure land to expand some of its other sites.
Its eight cemeteries also comprise two in New Milton as well as at Beaulieu, Blackfield, Calshot and Eling.
A report to NFDC's ruling cabinet explained the space at Sway and Lymington were expected to be filled by 2024, apart from family plots still with room.
It said: "This reduced cemetery provision will increase pressure on our remaining sites.
"Increasing population along the Waterside and east of the district is putting pressure on current capacities.
"The council needs to have plans in place to address current and future provision in this area."
A search for alternative cemetery sites in the district has been ongoing since at least 2013 without success, the report added.
Potential sites had been identified but failed initial investigations over soil type and proximity to water courses.
The meeting heard land might become available at Ashley Manor Farm on the edge of New Milton – which is at the centre of a furious battle between residents and New Milton Sand and Ballast over plans to dig gravel there.
A deal had been agreed in principle with the owner to sell NFDC four acres by the existing cemetery at Milford Road, it was said – once minerals extraction was complete.
NFDC-owned land adjacent to Calshot cemetery, which is currently leased out to grazing, could also be utilised subject to planning permission.
The report said a recent preference for the interment of ashes over burial in the past year, and may help as ashes use up a third of the space for a burial, although it might only be a "short-term" trend.
Cllr Edward Heron, cabinet member for housing and homelessness services, said it was important to highlight the work being done to ensure there was provision in the future.
He added: "I think many of the services the council delivers, everybody knows about.
"But our work as a burial authority is one most people don't come across until the last minute or something happens to a relative, and it is such an important service that we provide."
