This meeting was scheduled to include a discussion about the future of the council's cemeteries, and an update on the outcome of their participation in the No Mow May scheme.

Cemeteries & Memorials Strategy

The meeting was scheduled to include a presentation of a report on the council's cemeteries and memorials.

The report notes that Ashfield District Council is responsible for the maintenance of six cemeteries and seven closed churchyards across the district:

• Sutton Cemetery
• Kingsway Cemetery
• Hucknall Cemetery
• Annesley Woodhouse Cemetery
• Huthwaite Cemetery
• St Mary's Hucknall
• St Andrew’s Skegby
• St Mary’s Sutton
• St Wilfred’s Kirkby
• All Saints Annesley
• St Helen’s Selston
• St Michael’s Underwood

The report estimates that the council's cemeteries cover a total of 237,375 square meters, costing £503,271 a year to maintain. The council currently generates £270,000 a year from burials.

The report goes on to say that burial space at several cemeteries is in short supply, particularly in Sutton, where the cemetery has a projected lifespan of just two years at current burial rates.

The report also explores a range of options for increasing revenue from the cemeteries, and for decreasing expenditure, including:

• Re-opening cemetery chapels, which were closed during the pandemic, for funeral services,
• Offering woodland burials,
• Offering tree planting, where ashes are mixed with fertiliser and used to grow a tree,
• Expanding the range of options for ash interments beyond burials,
• Restricting the use of kerb sets, which make maintenance more difficult.

No Mow May Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a verbal update from officers on the outcome of the council's participation in the No Mow May campaign. The agenda indicates that the committee members may be asked to provide feedback on how the scheme was implemented.