New cemetery planned for Mansfield to provide 13,000 graves over next 40 years

Members of Mansfield Council's overview and scrutiny committee heard there are only enough plots left at Mansfield Cemetery to provide burial space there for the next three years.

In advance of the cemetery running out of plots, a new facility is planned off the A617 Mansfield and Ashfield Regeneration Route, on the edge of the new Lindhurst housing development.

The committee heard a cemetery development group has been set up to oversee the scheme, which is expected to provide 13,220 graves over 40 years.

Coun Andy Burgin, council portfolio holder for environment and leisure, said: “Mansfield Cemetery has provided a place for people to rest in peace and create a lasting memorial for thousands of families for more than a century.

“Now we need to create a new resting place for the future.

“We believe we have identified a suitable spot on the fringe of the Lindhurst development, but this is still at an early stage.”

The committee was told highways advice is being sought and the ecological impact a new cemetery would have is being assessed.

The Muslim community has already been consulted over its requirements at a new cemetery, with consultations planned with other religious group.

The committee heard Muslim leaders have indicated they would not need any further space in the new cemetery additional to the Muslim section at Mansfield Woodhouse Cemetery.

Burial vaults, which do not require graves to be dug, were installed at the Muslim section of the Woodhouse cemetery to facilitate burials within 24 hours of death, in line with Muslim traditions.