Multi-million pound plan to address graveyard shortage on the Isle of Skye

Plans have been drawn up to address issues with graveyard capacity in Skye over the next 75 years.

Work to cemeteries in Portree, Dunvegan and Strath will see an additional 1,200 lairs become available over the next three years.

The developments come as the council seeks to maintain at least a five-year capacity for new headstones in all graveyards on Skye.

The projects will see some sites, such as Dunvegan, providing lair capacity for the next 75 years.

There are two main projects underway in Portree and Dunvegan, making up the majority of the new developments.

Both sites have received small expansions to maintain capacity for at least the coming year but further capacity will be needed in the area.

The Portree comes at a cost of £525,000 but will see capacity in the Skye capital increase by around 600 lairs.

The £280,000 Dunvegan site expansion will see an extra 528 lairs added.

An additional £400,000 of budget allocation has been used to plan out smaller extensions to four key areas across Skye.

Bereavement services across Highland have enjoyed a £2.226 million budget allocation this year, but this is being halved to £1.042 million until 2029.

This could see future problem sites identified by councillors become a cause for concern.

Of the 31 cemetery sites in the Skye and Rasaay area, 16 have capacity for new inhabitants.

Plans are already being written up for a new cemetery in Skeabost or Borve, but finding the land to meet regulations is proving troublesome.

Further extensions to Cille a’Bhealaich and initial ideas for an Ashaig cemetary development are under consideration but are also coming up against regulatory roadblocks.

According a council report, land availability and suitability are some of the notable struggles prohibiting the council identifying new cemeteries or extensions to current sites.

All new burial sites must comply with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) regulations which protect certain areas of land over fears of cemetery pollution to the environment.

Council officer John MacLean updated Councillors on the cemetery projects at a recent Skye and Rasaay committee meeting.

He said: “The biggest challenge we have is finding the land. If we can find land it makes it a lot easier.”

Among the concerns is a rise in developmental and land purchasing costs, which could create a conflict with the approved cuts over the next four years.

Councillors did raise concerns on the lack of availability on some of the key sites around Skye.

Chair John Finlayson and Drew Millar appreciated the issues in trying to find acceptable land for new sites.

They asked for work to continue on identifying new sites to maintain their five-year-capacity plan.