Is England running out of burial space?
There is growing evidence to suggest that England is facing a shortage of burial space. This situation reflects the inability to reuse burial space, as happens in most Continental countries. A detailed burial survey was completed for the capital by the London Planning Advisory Committee. The report, issued in 1997, found that there was, in Inner London, only nine years supply of non-denominational burial space available. There was little local or out-of-borough space available for the residents of the City of London, Hackney, Islington, Lewisham, Kensington & Chelsea or Tower Hamlets. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is not restricted to large metropolitan areas. Other burial authorities – some in rural locations – also report problems for example with financing the purchase of new land for burial, and securing appropriate land at a reasonable distance from the community to be served. Without further research, the scale of the problem is difficult to gauge. However, again,
