Sunday, October 26, 2014

Church cemetery to start stacking coffins to combat overcrowding

An overcrowded churchyard is set to stack coffins four deep in an attempt to save space.

Banwell Parish Council in Somerset is considering a system where burial caskets are laid on top of each other underground - bringing the coffins right to the surface of the churchyard.

The graveyard at St Andrew's Church has just 70 plots left and is likely to be full within 15 years.

Tony Jay, Banwell Parish Council clerk, said: "Councillors are now looking at the future as to how we can deal with this.

"The benefit of this scheme would be that we could increase the number of graves in the current burial ground which would extend the life of the cemetery."

The council has already agreed to look at the possibility of buying land on the edge of the village to provide more burial plots, which could prove costly.

A system offered by GreenAcre Solutions - the only company in the UK offering a modular stacking system - is being considered as an alternative.

Currently the council only offers two-deep plots, but this could be extended if necessary.

If the parish council were to adopt the concept it could extend the cemetery life by around 40 years.

The units would only be available for family members and not allowed as general burial space.

Mr Jay added: "I wish to emphasise that if this system were to be introduced then it would not have any effect on any previously purchased grave plots, where burials would still take place in the traditional way.

"The parish councillors appreciate that this is an emotive subject."

Source

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