Waterford City Council has decided to put a draft set of bye-laws for the operation and management of the new Kilbarry burial ground on public display and to seek submissions and observations from the general public.
The new burial ground, which will have a number of distinctive features including a Columbarium (or Ashes Wall) and a natural burial area, is currently in the tender process, with work expected to begin within the next month. The completion date is set for September or October.
In total, there will be over 4,500 grave spaces when the burial ground is fully developed and it should serve the city’s needs for over a century.
The planning and design aspects have already gone through the planning process and the bye-laws are intended to be in place by the time the burial ground opens before year’s end.
Some of the more interesting features of the bye-laws are the establishment of the major part of the ground as a low-maintenance lawn graveyard, the designation of an area for natural burial and limitations on the size and type of monuments permitted.
Lawn graveyards have no kerbs and are much more amenable to maintenance and management. There are however time and location limitations for the placing of floral decorations and memorials.
The draft bye-laws are available for public inspection until March 19 and submissions will be accepted until March 26, before they go back to Council for adoption.
