North Lanarkshire council approves projects designed to tackle cemetery burial space issues

Councillors have approved projects designed to alleviate pressure on cemeteries in North Lanarkshire.

The council has predicted it will run out of burial space within ten years, with the sole exception of the Muslim section of Eastfield Cemetery in Cumbernauld.

It has a total of 15 operational cemeteries, with seven of those offering new lairs.

At a recent committee meeting, councillors approved proposals which included finding an alternative site for a new cemetery in Coatbridge, changes to the planned Pather Farm cemetery, and to prioritise the creation of further cemeteries based on the date existing facilities are expected to run out of space.

The council had intended to extend Coltswood Cemetery in Coatbridge using the only available adjacent land, disused sports pitches in Morven Street, but this has fallen through due to an unfavourable report from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency which was concerned about potential problems with flooding and other issues at the site.

There are three main means of providing additional space for burials, including developing underused sections of existing cemeteries, expanding them to adjoining plots of land or building completely new cemeteries.

Cambusnethan Cemetery in Wishaw and and Coltswood Cemetery in Coatbridge are expected to run out of general plots by 2026, while the Muslim burial area at Cambusnethan is also approaching maximum capacity.

In Wishaw, the Pather Farm cemetery has been in development since 2019. Construction is due to be completed by May next year and will provide around 2,000 lairs, which are expected to last 12 years at a cost of £3.7m.

Improvements have also been made to other cemeteries, including the refurbishment of the Baby Garden in Cambusnethan, a project which saw the council work with guidance from local charity Baby Loss Retreat. It is intended to carry out a similar development at Bothwellpark.