Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 14:00
Grave concern
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Consultants are set to snub the idea of a crematorium for East Lothian – despite some county graveyards being full to capacity.
Officials from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management are expected to recommend to councillors next month not to build East Lothian’s first crematorium, though a new cemetery serving Musselburgh is likely.
A key policy document which aims to ease mounting space pressures on the county’s 32 burial sites – the draft East Lothian Burial Grounds Strategy – will consider measures such as a new out-of-town graveyard at Musselburgh and the extensions of existing cemeteries at Dunbar, Prestonpans and Tranent.
The creation of so-called green burial sites, burial provision for ethnic minorities, and increasing the number of ‘double’ burials will also be explored.
East Lothian Council’s principal amenities officer, Stuart Pryde, said: “The research that has been carried out shows that a crematorium in East Lothian would not be economically viable, even if the running costs were to be shared with Scottish Borders Council.”
Cremations of county residents currently take place at City of Edinburgh Council-run facilities at Mortonhall, Warriston and Seafield.
However, a leading opposition councillor has warned that construction of a county crematorium may be unavoidable.
Councillor John McNeil, chair of East Lothian’s community services policy, performance and review panel (PPRP), was part of the Labour council that in 2003 shelved plans to spend more than £1 million converting one of its buildings into a crematorium.
That scheme, involving a site close to Alderston House on the outskirts of Haddington, was also deemed to be too costly. However, with the county’s growing population and a further 4,000 new homes earmarked, Mr McNeil believes a crematorium may be needed.
“A lot has changed in five years and it may be the case now that we need to have a crematorium,” he said.
“The council previously did a survey of local undertakers and asked them how many cremations they did in a year. It revealed there were only around 200 cremations of East Lothian residents each year in Edinburgh, so we abandoned the idea. I was party to that decision, but I think the time has come to review it. The pressure on burial space is only going to increase.”
Mr Pryde told the latest meeting of the community services PPRP that solutions would need to be found relating to space, as “some burial sites had been effectively closed to further burials”.
Mr McNeill added: “The problem that the council has is that every spare piece of ground in the county is extremely valuable.
“I’m lucky. I’ve had a lair set side for me in a family grave in Musselburgh. I want to be with my family when I’m gone – I don’t fancy being put in a cardboard box and left to decompose in some wood.”
There were 503 recorded male and 525 female deaths in East Lothian in 2007, an overall increase of 17 on the preview year.
A council spokesperson said the authority’s position on crematoria was unchanged.
But the spokesperson admitted that some cemeteries were under “serious” pressure.
“There are none that are full to capacity at present. We recently expanded North Berwick Cemetery, and we are now looking to extend the cemeteries at Dunbar, Prestonpans and Tranent,” she said.
“Some of our smaller, rural, graveyards, such as Humbie and Gifford, are also under real pressure.
“The biggest problem we have is at Inveresk Cemetery. It is landlocked and cannot be expanded, so we are looking at providing a new out of town site for Musselburgh, if that is what local people want. The majority of people in East Lothian are choosing to be buried within family plots.”
Undertakers say double burials, where family members are laid to rest in the same plot, are increasingly popular.
Alistair Hogg, owner of Ormiston-based Lothian Memorials, added: “We have noticed a recent increase in added inscription work, on headstones where there are double burials.”
Jan Wilson, chair of Haddington Community Council, said: “There is pressure on our graveyards, but we don’t have enough people dying in East Lothian to warrant a crematorium here.”
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