Susanna Freymark
How much room is there at Richmond Valley cemeteries?
Richmond Valley Council manages nine cemeteries including three active cemeteries that provide burial and memorialisation services.
Casino Lawn Cemetery has capacity for more than 100 years based on current usage.
Coraki Cemetery has significant unused capacity with more than 100 years of potential supply.
Evans Head Cemetery has about 70 years of capacity and then council will need to look at longer term expansion.
At the council meeting at 6pm, today, Tuesday, August 18, cemeteries are on the agenda including the draft Richmond Valley Cemetery Strategy 2026.
The council’s existing cemetery planning framework is based on the 2015 Cemeteries Background Paper and no longer reflects current regulatory requirements, industry standards, community expectations, demographic trends or long-term financial considerations.
Richmond Valley Council engaged Locale Consulting to prepare the draft Richmond Valley Cemetery Strategy 2026.
The review includes analysis of current cemetery costs, looking at what other councils charge, demand projections and how much it cost to run the cemeteries.
The council has subsided the cemeteries with about $75,000 over the past five years to cover the shortfall between what people pay and what is required to run the cemeteries.
The draft strategy has reviewed fees and charges.
Cemeteries require ongoing maintenance long after burial capacity has been reached.
While deaths within the Richmond Valley LGA are forecast to increase because of an ageing population, increasing cremation trends are likely to moderate demand for traditional in-ground burials
The draft strategy identifies opportunities to diversify memorialisation and investigate options for natural burial at Casino Lawn Cemetery. Diversifying burials could include more niche walls, memorial gardens and alternative forms of storing ashes.
The draft Richmond Valley Cemetery Strategy 2026 will be on public exhibition for the next 28 days.
Go to the agenda for tonight’s meeting. The draft Strategy should be available on the council website after the meeting.