Appendix 2 - Recent Works to Extend Cemeteries
Argyll and Bute Council · 2 March 2023
Back to Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee — 2 March 2023 and its agenda
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APPENDIX 2 - RECENT WORKS TO EXTEND CEMETERIES WORKS TO EXTEND APPIN CEMETERY The existing cemetery at Appin (1953 extension) had reached capacity by 2018, with no additional space available for sale of lairs. Initial enquiries took place in late 2019 with the adjacent land owner and the Appin Development Trust. An agreement was reached to extend the cemetery on the existing frontage, providing two rows of additional lairs. Ground investigations confirmed the presence of the water table in the lower area and a drain outfall, which restricted the number of new lairs to 90. This will be sufficient, at the previous average rate of sale, for 38 years capacity but there is no further scope to extend beyond this. Ground investigation and an archaeological survey were required as part of the planning application process. The Design was submitted for Planning Approval in January 2021. Planning Permission was granted in May 2021, subject to some conditions. There was a parallel process where a North American benefactor, with ancestral links to the area, donated the land purchase price, which reduced the over- all cost to the Council. The land transaction and legal agreement was finalised in September 2021, which allowed the Council to access the adjacent field and begin development. The construction phase began in November 2021 with the boundary fencing, formation of footpaths and head stone foundations. This allowed the resumption of Lair Sales, if required, from January 2022. Construction continued into 2022 with the expansion of parking facilities and the boundary wall and was completed with the surfacing of the carpark and access road in July 2022. The construction works were primarily delivered by the RIS operations team assisted by sub-contractors. The overall cost to the Council for the construction works amounts to £ 45,319. KILKERRAN – DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CAMPBELTOWN CEMETERY An initial plan of 2016 to extend Kilkerran to the west, proved to be unachievable, due to SEPA concerns over water table levels (notwithstanding the watercourse running through the existing cemetery). An alternative option to the north, also proved difficult due to rock at shallow depth. An alternative site was selected in 2017 at Baraskomil Farm and the Estates section engaged with the landowner regards the sale of land. However this reached an impass in November 2018 and the agent confirmed that the landowner no longer wished to do business with the Council. RSK – Land and Hydrology assessment consultants, had previously been engaged by the Council on various cemetery projects. They were re-engaged to develop alternative options for Campbeltown, in parallel with their work at Appin. The Constraints Map below indicates the limited scope for cemetery sites close to Campbeltown. The previous contract with RSK was exhausted in 2020 and an
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attempt to engage a single consultant to provide a full service towards a cemetery construction programme to delivery, failed to produce any competent bids by September 2021. The latest assessment of remaining Lair spaces in Kilkerran, indicates that there are 110 unsold lairs spaces remaining with scope to develop up to another 80 lairs. Due to the ad-hoc local restriction of the pre-sale of lairs, a total of 25 lairs were sold between January 2022- January 2023, indicating approximately 7 years remaining capacity.
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CAMPBELTOWN NEW CEMETERY – CONSTRAINTS MAP – 4 SITE OPTIONS.