Dozen cemeteries in Fife are full, new report reveals

Liz Murphy, Fife Council’s bereavement services manager, said now is the time to plan for the future.

“With the time it takes to find and develop new sites, we need to start looking now,” she said.

The council has published a public consultation to understand what people want from cemeteries, and the senior officer said it’s important for a broad range of people to participate.

“It’s really important we hear the community’s views because it affects everyone in Fife,” she said.

“We’re using this consultation to get feedback from the community to help us develop a strategy moving forward. Ultimately, people need to consider what they want from a cemetery.”

Fife has 61 ‘active’ cemeteries with regular burials. However, ten have no additional capacity, meaning that only 51 sites have lairs available to purchase.

An additional 11 are due to reach capacity within the next 10 years; seven cemeteries have less than five years., and Scoonie Cemetery in Levenmouth is estimated to have less than two years left.

Solutions may range from halting the presale of lairs, creating more burial options, or creating spaces where urns can be stored safely and respectfully.

Future cemetery provision could also take the shape of either one large cemetery for the entire region, or one site for multiple communities.

The results from the consultation will inform a strategy published later in the year.