Plot identified for cemetery in town
A NEW cemetery is being planned for the outskirts of Mansfield.
On Wednesday, Mansfield District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee was told that there are only enough plots left at Mansfield Cemetery, off Derby Road, to provide burial spaces there for the next three years.
A new facility is being planned off the Mansfield Ashfield Relief Road on the edge of the new Lindhurst housing development, where 1,700 homes are eventually expected to be built, in advance of the cemetery running out of plots.
The committee heard that a Cemetery Development Group was set up a year ago to project manage the scheme.
The new site is expected to provide 13,220 graves over the next 40 years.
Councillor Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for environment and leisure, said: “Mansfield Cemetery has provided a place for people to rest in peace and create a lasting memorial for thousands of families for over a century, and now we need to create a new resting place for the people of this district in the future.
“We believe we have identified a suitable spot on the fringe of the Lindhurst development, but this is still at an early stage.” The committee was told that pre-planning application advice has been submitted and returned for the scheme. Advice is also being sought from Highways, and the ecological impact that a new cemetery could have is now being assessed. The Muslim community has already been consulted over its requirements at a new cemetery, and the committee was told other religious groups would also be consulted. Muslim leaders have indicated that they would not need any further space in the new cemetery additional to the Muslim section at Mansfield Woodhouse Cemetery, where additional plots have already been provided. Burial vaults were installed at the Muslim section of the Woodhouse cemetery to facilitate burials within 24 hours after a person dies, in line with Muslim traditions.
We need to create a new resting place for the people of the district in the future.
Cllr Andy Burgin