Stoke-on-Trent's Carmountside cemetery to expand

There is a 'critical need' to provide additional grave spaces in the city, the council has said

A cemetery is set to be expanded to provide additional space for a further 1,489 graves.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's cabinet has recommended spending £850,000 on the Carmountside site.

There was a critical need to invest in future-proofing grave provision in the city, a council report said.

The expansion of Leek Road cemetery would also see the completion of a drainage scheme.

There are nine cemeteries in Stoke-on-Trent, and three - Longton, Trentham and Smallthorne - have reached capacity for new grave provision.

The remaining land for new graves in the city's cemeteries was becoming exhausted, the report stated, but Carmountside continued to offer virgin ground suitable for full body burial.

Expanding the cemetery is expected to cost £850,000, with additional finance costs of £47,000 a year, funded from the council's capital programme.

The authority anticipates that providing additional grave space at Carmountside will generate £5.5m over 30 to 50 years.