Antrim and Newtownabbey: Council told of potential loss of 120 unused burial plots while new garden of remembrance confirmed
A total of 411 cremations have taken place at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s crematorium during the first three months of the year.
A report presented to a meeting of the council’s Operations Committee behind closed doors last month showed that of these, 287 were non-residents of the borough.
Of the 157 cremations that took place in January, 49 were residents and 108 non-residents. In February there were 129 cremations, of which 39 were residents and 90 non-residents. There were 125 in March, of which 36 were residents and 89 non-residents.
Last year, there were 1,407 cremations locally, of which, 491 were residents and 916, non-residents. The crematorium is located at Doagh Road, Newtownabbey.
The council’s head of parks operations confirmed a new garden of remembrance in Antrim would be completed in two phases during the next financial year resulting in an additional 320 plots.
Other gardens of remembrance in the borough are located in Carnmoney Cemetery, Newtownabbey; Ballyclare Cemetery and in Mallusk Cemetery. These plots are for burial of ashes only.
Meanwhile, councillors were told the presence of a suspected souterrain at Rashee Cemetery, Ballyclare, could result in the potential loss of 120 unused burial plots. The report noted archaeological survey works at the site have now been fully completed by specialist consultants from Queen’s University Belfast.
These investigations have produced “clear preliminary findings confirming the presence of a substantial souterrain within the surveyed area”, the report said.
Formal confirmation and guidance are now awaited from Department for Communities Historic Environment Division (HED) regarding the potential requirement for a “protected buffer zone around the souterrain”, an underground or partially underground chamber structure.
Councillors have been advised to ensure the continued provision of burials at the site, the installation of plinths is being carried out in areas located outside the “identified souterrain zone”.
They were also told site survey works to establish the viability of a potential site for burial provision in Newtownabbey is being carried out by specialist consultants with completion anticipated by the end of summer 2026.
Minutes noted that a member pointed out that burial provision is a statutory obligation of the council and requested that an outline business case for the proposed new Valley Cemetery (Carnmoney South) in Newtownabbey be “expediated as a matter of urgency”.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter