The Highland Council is actively seeking land in the Fort William area with a view to expanding its burial ground provision.
Lochaber Area Committee Chair, Cllr Kate Willis said:
“Members are aware of the growing concern over the lack of capacity in our burial ground at Glen Nevis, Fort William, which communities continue to contact us about.
“The reality being that there is approximately 2.5 years of new lairs available and despite best efforts, no alternative location in the Fort William area has been found.
“To mitigate the diminishing burial ground capacities, Council Officers are actively reviewing locations to acquire new land suitable for the development of burial ground extensions, or in some cases new burial grounds and encourage open discussions with landowners to assist in identifying land that could be purchased to allow for burials to continue in Fort William beyond 2025.”
The development timescale for a new burial ground takes approximately 18-24 months to prepare, which means preparation of any new site would ideally start in February 2023 and at the latest July 2023, to allow the continuation of burials in the Fort William area beyond the capacity being reached at Glen Nevis.
The Highland Council is inviting land owners within a 15 miles radius of Fort William to phone the Council on 01463 702297 / 07760 670112 or to email frank.scott@highland.gov.uk / gary.coutts@highland.gov.uk with a view to discussing land acquisition.
The Council is seeking 1.5 hectares / 3.7 acres (or more) land that should have no peat or immediate rock within its net area.
An appeal is currently being promoted on social media by the Council in its search for a new burial ground location or extension.
