Cemetery Provision and Maintenance
Argyll and Bute Council · 1 March 2023
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 1 March 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES 1 MARCH 2023 CEMETERY MAINTENANCE AND ROADS ACCESS FUND 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 At the Policy and Resources Committee in October 2022 it was agreed that, subject to confirmation of the Crown Estates allocation for 2022-23, to allocate £300,000 towards a Cemetery Maintenance and Roads Access Improvement Fund (£75,000 for each administrative area). This report provides options for approval and has been informed by a meeting with the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islands Members. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Area Committee: agree to either Package a or Package b as outlined in paragraph 3.3 or an alternative package of options up to the value of £75,000, agree that any underspend within an area is used for further levelling up of lairs, and note that regular updates will be provided via the Roads and Infrastructure weekly briefing. 3.0 DETAIL 3.1 The Council allocated £300,000 of Crown Estate funding to a Cemetery Maintenance and Roads Access Fund, to be split between the four administrative areas (£75k each). A MAKI business day meeting was held on 6 February 2023 where officers presented some suggestions for use of the Fund. 3.2 Following the MAKI Business Day held on 6 February 2023, officers have given further consideration to options, accepting that Members may wish to see a more equal split across the three areas within MAKI. More detail on all the options is provided in the table below and Members will be asked to agree on the options to be implemented. Following the table of options, officers have made two package suggestions that may help with the decision.
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Area Location Proposed Works Estimated Cost £ Mid Argyll Achnabreac, Lochgilphead Option 1 - Surfacing the access road and existing car park. Option 2 - Creation of new overflow car parking area to assist during large attendances at burials, this will also provide closer parking for those tending to graves. There are several burials a year where the existing car park has insufficient capacity. The work will include excavating existing grass and forming an unbound surface using stone and road planings to form an overspill area – see proposed area on Appendix 1. 15,000 10,000 Mid Argyll Various Sites Option 3 - Levelling of lairs, flexible cost. flexible Kintyre Brackley, Carradale Option 4 - Resurfacing the access road to the farm gate and also the road into the cemetery, see Appendix 2. Includes resurfacing and drainage works to the road and top dressing/resurfacing of the car park with an unbound stone material. Option 5 - Resurfacing the access road to the farm gate and the levelling and pothole repair/patching of the road from the farm to the car park. Includes drainage works and top dressing/resurfacing of the car park with an unbound stone material. Option 6 - Levelling, potholing and patching of the access road to the farm gate and also the road into the cemetery. 45,000 35,000 8,000 Kintyre Various Sites Option 7 - Levelling of lairs, flexible cost. flexible Islay Nerabus Option 8 - Improvements to cemetery paths. Option 9 - Access road improvement and pathway improvements. 5,000 15,000 Islay Bowmore Option 10 - Pathway improvements. Option 11 - Cemetery gate repairs. 7,000 1,000 Islay Kilchoman Option 12 - Pathway improvements. 7,000 Islay Various Sites Option 13 - Levelling of lairs, flexible cost. flexible
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3.3 To help with the decision on what options to choose, officers have suggested two packages as noted below. 3.4 It is suggested that once Members agree on a package of options, if there is any underspend on the estimated cost for an option, that this would be used to carry out further levelling of lairs within the area. 3.5 It is proposed that regular update on progress will be provided via the Roads and Infrastructure weekly briefing. 3.6 In the future, it is open to the Policy and Resources Committee to consider allocating further funding from the Crown Estates allocation to a second phase Cemetery Maintenance and Roads Access Fund, if Members agreed that this was a good use of funding. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 This report provides the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islands Area Committee with options on how to spend the £75,000 that has been allocated from the Crown Estates funding to a Cemetery Maintenance and Roads Access Fund. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Policy – there would be a temporary diversion of the Council’s policy to only upgrade and maintain adopted roads until the Cemetery Maintenance and Roads Access Fund is fully spent. 5.2 Financial – Crown Estate Funding allocation of £75,000 per administrative area. 5.3 Legal – Landowners permission required for works at Brackley Cemetery access road. Area Location Proposed Works Package a £ Package b £ Mid Argyll Achnabreac Option 1 Option 2 15,000 10,000 15,000 0 Mid Argyll Various Sites Option 3 0 5,000 Mid Argyll Total 25,000 20,000 Kintyre Brackley Option 5 35,000 35,000 Kintyre Total 35,000 35,000 Islay Bowmore Option 10 Option 11 7,000 1,000 7,000 1,000 Islay Kilchoman Option 12 7,000 7,000 Islay Various Sites Option 13 0 5,000 Islay Total 15,000 20,000 Grand Total Package 75,000 75,000
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5.4 HR – none known. 5.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: none known. 5.5.1 Equalities - protected characteristics – none known. 5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty – none known. 5.5.3 Islands – proposed works are of a minor nature and it is not anticipated that an Islands Impact Assessment will be required. 5.6 Climate Change – due regard will be given to climate change with a view to minimising any climate change impact and these will be considered as and when they arise. 5.7 Risk – none identified. 5.8 Customer Service – the works to the cemeteries will help towards improving customer experience. Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure: Kirsty Flanagan Head of Roads and Infrastructure: Jim Smith Policy Lead for Roads and Infrastructure Councillor Ross Moreland 24 February 2023 For further information contact: Tom Murphy, Operations Manager Jim Smith, Head of Roads and Infrastructure Service APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Achnabreac proposed car park Appendix 2 – Brackley proposed works
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APPENDIX 1 – ACHNABREAC PROPOSED CAR PARK Proposed car park extension to the top left of existing car park shaded in grey and outlined in blue
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APPENDIX 2 – BRACKLEY PROPOSED WORKS Proposed area to be treated shaded in blue.