Burial crisis: how London is running out of space for the dead

Many of the capital’s local authorities will have no space by 2040 reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

A woman standing in as cemetery — Assembly member Hina Bokhari – (Credit: Kumail Jaffer/LDRS)

The Mayor of London has been told to use his convening powers to prevent an impending burial space crisis in the capital after a City Hall audit revealed more than half of the city’s local authorities will run out of space within 15 years.

It means 17 local authorities will no longer have space by 2040, officials predict, while three – Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets – have none as it stands.

With London’s population continuing to age – ONS data predicts the proportion aged 65 and over will be 40.9 per cent by 2040 – it is likely that ever greater pressure will be put on finding burial space.

City Hall’s draft London Plan – the mayor’s new spatial development strategy – tells boroughs that they may need to look to using low quality Green Belt land, known as ‘grey belt’, for additional capacity, as well as designing new graves for ‘re-use’ by making them double or triple the usual depth.

For Liberal Democrat assembly member Hina Bokhari, the issue is personal. 15 years ago, as per his request, she wanted to bury her late father close to their Merton home, but the “struggle” in finding a suitable space foreshadowed the spatial crisis to come.

“There is a real crisis point now that if we don’t face this issue now, there will be families at an increasing rate that are going to have the most devastating news of their loved one passing away, but then finding out that they can’t actually bury their loved one where they live,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

City Hall’s ‘Audit of London Burial Provision’, released earlier this year, warns that many boroughs, particularly in inner London, are either nearing capacity or have none left.

Nine of 25 boroughs that responded to the audit said they relied on out of borough provision “due to limited open space available for cemetery use”.

“The audit has made that really clear that there needs to be a strategic London-wide approach,” Ms Bokhari said.

“There needs to be a plan, but there needs to be action behind that plan. And I want the Mayor of London to lead on that action.

“He can use his convening powers to bring in the cemeteries, to bring in faith communities, to bring in boroughs, to work on the process of getting that plan, to have a concrete way forward, because if in 15 years’ time, we end up with no space in 20 boroughs, then what?

“He has that potential to do that. He has that ability to bring those people together. I don’t want it just to be something where he just sits back and waits. It has to happen now, because 15 years is gonna go really quickly.”

The draft Local Plan has a section dedicated to ‘Burial Space’, encouraging boroughs to “plan pro-actively for the expansion, re-use and long-term provision of burial space to meet future demand.”

Officials have told local authorities to re-use graves over a century old, increase the depth of burials to allow multiple people to use one spot, and consider the use of “grey-belt and Green Belt sites”, admitting they “will be needed in many cases”.

“I welcome the fact that he’s recognised the issue,” Bokhari said.

“I welcome the fact that there is an idea put forward. I think the Green Belt solution is something way down the list, though.

“Before that, there are opportunities for local boroughs to look at their own land, look at the surrounding areas of their cemeteries that they currently have, and look at the potential of using their current lands that cannot be built, you know, for housing, for cemeteries.

“Do that first before you even start thinking about the Green Belt. Let’s make sure that we really have that clear concrete approach from councils to really look into depth into their approach.”

In the House of Lords, Liberal Democrat peers have introduced a bill requiring councils to plan ahead and track capacity before it runs out.

Currently, while local authorities have the power to provide and maintain cemeteries, they are not legally required to provide burial space. If passed, the legislation will mandate the inclusion of guaranteed burial ground space within local development plans.

Bokhari said the issue is one that cannot be kicked into the long grass, lest it turns into the next generation’s social care crisis.

She added: “Sometimes when it comes to these kind of issues, you know, people don’t talk about it until it starts to impact you.

“It’s the same way that other issues have become, only now starting to be highlighted, like social care, for example. For a long, long time social care wasn’t talked about, it wasn’t discussed – it’s a difficult subject area. But now people are starting to talk about it, because it is impacting too many people now.

“This is gonna be the same. At some point, it’s going to be so prevalent that you cannot ignore it. So it’s important that we talk about it now.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS: “The draft London Plan makes clear that boroughs should plan pro-actively and collaboratively for the expansion, reuse, and long-term provision of burial space.

“In doing this, it’s important that they recognise cultural and faith needs.

“Councils should also refer to the Audit of London Burial Provision, which provides evidence to support boroughs in developing local policies and planning for future burial provision, as part of their Local Plans.”

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