Urmston Cemetery soon to run out of space for new burials

Urmston Cemetery will be at full capacity by next month (December 2023) and will have to shut the gates to new burials.

Other Cemeteries in Trafford could also be close to full capacity and won’t be helped due to the knock on effect of people looking elsewhere to bury their loved ones.

On inspection we are aware that Brooklands Cemetery in Sale is looks to be almost at capacity, more cemeteries could also be the same despite the council claiming their is enough burial land for the next 20-years!

The good news for Urmston Cemetery is that the council are looking into the possibility of constructing burial chambers on land at the rear of the cemetery but even that will eventually be at capacity.

Trafford has five cemeteries, two in the north of the borough at Stretford and Urmston and three to the south at Hale, Sale and Dunham Lawn.

Cllr Cath Hynes, Executive Member with responsibility for bereavement services, said: “It’s important that we support bereaved families particularly at their time of grief and I would like to reassure residents we have enough burial space in Trafford for at least the next 15 to 20 years.

“However, we also appreciate the needs of bereaved families to visit their loved ones locally if possible, and that’s why for Urmston Cemetery we will see if burial chambers could be used to allow burials to continue there for the next few years.”

The sudden increase in deaths or excess deaths started to get worse after the pandemic, more people have died after it than during, MP Andrew Bridgen has managed to get a debate in Parliament about the problem, but not even himself or actually anyone else ever thought about the burial crisis looming.

With the council hanging on by a thread with money so tight they could go into emergency mode (s114) we think a cemetery would be near the bottom of the list of a council’s priorities.