Pre-sale of burial lairs in Fife to cease as cemeteries are running out of space

The Fife Cabinet Committee has signed off on plans to cease the presale of burial lairs and reclaim lairs sold more than 50 years ago that have never been used and have no successors.

At the same time, Fife’s Bereavement Services have committed to developing new cemeteries in areas of high priority and generally expanding cemetery capacity across the Kingdom.

The cemetery strategy has previously gone through all seven of Fife’s local area committees, but on Thursday it went before the Cabinet Committee for approval.

At the forefront of the strategy is the immediate decision to cease the presale of burial lairs and the reclamation of lairs sold more than 50 years ago that have never been used and have no successors.

“There is a recognition that a number of cemeteries throughout Fife are nearing capacity,” Liz Murphy, bereavement services manager previously said.

There are currently ten cemeteries where capacity will run out in less than ten years. A further seven have less than 20 years capacity available.

A Fife-wide consultation last year netted responses from more than 220 people across Fife. Of those, 92 per cent believed that doing nothing is not an option that the council should consider.

Some 51 per cent of consultees agreed with stopping the pre-sale of lairs across all cemeteries to safeguard capacity for the future – and 71 per cent agree that the exclusive right of burial for unused lairs should be retrieved/renewed on expiry of the lease.

The consultation also revealed a strong interest in the development of “green” burial provision; dedicated areas for the burial or dispersal of cremated remains; and an interest in increased cemetery biodiversity.

Realistically, Cabinet councillors questioned how many unused lairs exist across the Kingdom.

Ms Murphy said there are “a lot”.

“It was quite common in Victorian times and in the early 1900s for a family to buy two or three graves – or lairs as we call them – and to only use one,” she explained.

The result, she said, would be a huge family memorial stone sitting across all three lairs, but two are actually lying empty.

“We would have to look at the feasibility of what we’d do with those memorials to free up those unused lairs,” she continued.

No matter what, the reclamation process will involve a lot of advertising, signage and attempts to trace any surviving family members before the lairs can be reclaimed.

NEW CEMETERIES AND A CEMETERY FOR GLENROTHES

The development of new cemeteries is explicitly mentioned in the new cemetery strategy, but plans are not yet well established.

Councillor David Barrat (SNP for Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay) said the new-development ambitions feel more like a “strategy to develop a strategy” rather than fully fledged plans.

More specifically, multiple councillors emphasised the need to develop a cemetery in Glenrothes.

“It seems to me that Glenrothes is 85 or 86 years old – or something like that . People have lived their lives here therefore they should have the opportunity to be buried here, should they choose,” Councillor Craig Walker (SNP for Glenrothes West and Kinglassie) stated.

Councillor Altany Craik (Labour for Glenrothes West and Kinglassie) added: “Glenrothes is a new town, we don’t have a cemetery, but we use the cemeteries of Markinch, Kinglassie, and so on. But given that Glenrothes is a major [hub in Fife] maybe we should be looking here first to take some pressure off of some of the cemeteries around and about us.”

Ms Murphy said the service is “well aware” of the requirement and need for a cemetery in the Glenrothes area, but it’s a matter of priorities and of budget.

The bereavement services team is planning to develop business cases, designs, and options for new cemetery locations sometime between now and 2027.

In the meantime, the Cabinet unanimously approved the five year cemetery strategy and noted the public consultation results.