'Crisis' over city burial space

A shortage of burial space in Belfast is almost at crisis point, it has been claimed.

Families in west Belfast say they have no choice but to bury their relatives in Lisburn - at treble the cost - as Milltown and the City cemeteries are almost full.

Burial plots in Belfast are very scarce

More than 225,000 people are buried at the City Cemetery on the Falls Road, which opened in 1869.

More than 85,000 people are buried at Milltown and there is virtually no space left there.

West Belfast funeral director Donna O'Neill said another cemetery was urgently needed for the city.

"Both Milltown and the City Cemetery have not had new graves available for a number of years now, so it is getting to a crisis point," she said.

She said Blaris Cemetery in Lisburn was the nearest cemetery to people in that part of the city, but it was very expensive for people from Belfast.

"If you are a Belfast resident, it is almost treble the price. It is a Lisburn-Council owned cemetery. For a Belfast resident, it is £2,160 to purchase a grave at the time of death and to cover the interment.

Roselawn Cemetery is the resting place of soccer star George Best

"But if you are a Lisburn resident... it is £670."

North Belfast funeral director Brendan Brown said his colleagues first became concerned about a shortage of burial space in the 1980s.

He agreed families are reluctantly choosing to bury their loved ones outside Belfast.

"As long as they have an address in Glengormley or Newtownabbey boundary they can get a grave in Carnmoney or go to Roselawn but the majority of people in this end of the town don't want to go to Roselawn as it's too far out of the road for them."

Only 20% of funerals in Northern Ireland are cremations, compared to 70% in England, Wales and Scotland due to shortage of burial space.

Gerry White of the City Wide Cemetery Regeneration, which manages Milltown cemetery on behalf of the Catholic Church, said it was trying to find hundreds more burial plots within the cemetery.

I think we will have to try to move, to shift the culture of people to thinking a cremation is an appropriate form of burial Bob Stoker Belfast City Council

"Within the next year to 18 months... all the ground available will be used.

"One way of solving part of the problem is to maybe consider cremation and even using a family plot that won't take a burial, to maybe bury ashes in.

"Realistically the chances of the either City Council or Milltown finding another graveyard that size within the city boundaries is almost nil."

Councillor Bob Stoker, Chairman of the Parks and Leisure Services Committee, said the council was looking at four possible sites within the city.

"Once examinations have been completed, which should be before the end of this year, we'll be in a position to purchase the land at whichever site is suitable for burials," he said.

"That will give us a life-span then of up to 40 years for burials. We are being very pro-active and looking at this problem.

"Land availability is at almost crisis, not just within Belfast but even outside of Belfast, there are only so many sites that could take burials."

He said that more people were taking the decision to be cremated.

"I think we will have to try to move, to shift the culture of people to thinking a cremation is an appropriate form of burial," he said.