Kiama’s cemeteries should stop reserving sections for different religious denominations, to help ease congestion at the burial sites, consultants have told the municipality’s council.
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And a “priority allocation fee” could be brought in to increase the revenue from the town’s three cemeteries.
The council is facing a looming problem as its two most popular cemeteries – Kiama and Gerringong – are running out of space, with just 16 per cent and 5 percent (respectively) of their available space remaining.
As the Mercury reported yesterday, double-depth burials in plots, and differential pricing, have been suggested to steer residents towards choosing cremation or a final resting place at Jamberoo.
A significant amount of space is taken up with reservations – pre-sold burial licences held by people who bought them from the council – and these may be reviewed as well.
Changing Places, a cemetery consultancy firm, was engaged to review Kiama’s cemetery operations, fees, and “revenue enhancement opportunities” in the cause of “positioning Kiama cemeteries for the future”.
Among its 15 recommendations was that council examine older grave reservation records to “ascertain the likelihood of the plots ever being utilised” – and that a procedure be worked out to “appropriately reclaim the graves”.
A time limit for exercising a “right of interment” or burial licence on a family’s reserved plot may also be considered by the council.
Kiama cemetery has 669 full burial plots reserved, with just 37 burials last financial year. Gerringong has 197 full burial reservations and 12 burials last year.
Cremations were becoming more popular, accounting for more than 65 per cent of bodily dispositions.
The consultant recommended council could enhance community service, and generate more revenue, by “broadening its cremation memorial location offerings” with niches for remains, and adopting a “more tailored approach to fee setting”.