Sheffield bereavement services aim to be inclusive and environmentally friendly
A new policy for Sheffield bereavement services over the next 25 years will focus on being inclusive of all city groups and also caring for the environment.
Sheffield City Council manages 16 cemeteries, two crematoriums and a garden of remembrance and one key problem is the need to identify more burial space.
The new policy, which was agreed yesterday (September 15) by the council’s communities, parks and leisure policy committee, said that the lack of cemetery space is particularly acute in the south of the city and for Muslim burials.
Councillors agreed last week (September 10) to find 12 to 24 hectares of new burial space. This would include developing four to six new cemeteries, with up to nine hectares of land in them reserved for Muslim burials.
Head of bereavement services Ellie Fraser was asked by Coun Mike Chaplin about reopening disused cemeteries such as Wardsend. She said that is currently legally challenging, although the government is reviewing the situation.
Currently, the council would need to sponsor an Act of Parliament for every cemetery that is reopened in order to allow graves to be reused. The number of graves provided in this way would also be minimal because of rules around the length of time before plots can be reused and the issue of who owns them.
Ms Fraser also said that the whole policy will be updated to keep pace with developments in services and technology.
The service is also working to enhance biodiversity in cemeteries.
The policy follows on from a citywide consultation last year, which received almost 3,000 responses.