by Chris Tobin
Timaru District Council is still looking for a new cemetery site.
With the current cemetery rapidly nearing capacity the council has given the matter some priority.
“It’s still a work in progress,” the council’s communications manager Stephen Doran said.
“We’re still searching for a suitable site for the replacement. The requirements for a cemetery are quite exacting so this may take a bit of time.
“Funding in the 2019-20 budget this year isn’t necessarily going to be used, but was required to be budgeted for, in case we identified a suitable site and had to start the purchase process.”
The council has earmarked $3.6million for a new cemetery.
Trees at the southern end of the cemetery have been cleared as part of the redevelopment of Redruth Park
The first stage of the project started in July with about 20,000 native trees and 600 native podocarps planted along the Redruth Park’s southern border.
A similar number of plants will be planted from June to August next year on the eastern side and the boundary next to the cemetery.
The council received $20,000 Government funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries to assist the Redruth Park Redevelopment project.
