Derry City Council and local Churches have been called on to begin talks about finding a site for a new cemetery in Derry.
The call has come from Sinn Fein election candidate Sandra Duffy who commended the Council and its staff for its excellent maintenance of the City Cemetery but said there would come a time when it would reach its full capacity.
She said: “”We have seen in the past year the excellent work that has gone on in the City Cemetery with the major works at the lower end of the cemetery along the Lone Moor Road section and a number of new burial sites have been opened up.
“Council staff need to be commended for the having the grounds there looking so well.
“This new section with hopefully have enough provision for the coming years, but there will come a time when the City Cemetery will have reached its full capacity.”
Ms Duffy said she believed “now is the time” to start looking for new sites in the city.
She added: “There has been a major population shift in the past 20 years towards both Culmore and developments in the Greater Shantallow area.
“I have spoken to many people who feel that there needs to be a new cemetery in this part of city.”
She added there was “an abundance” of land and Derry City Council and the local Churches needed to begin discussions about finding a site for a new cemetery.
She concluded: “It could be a long process to get a site that suits the needs of the city for the next 20 to 30 years but we need to begin that process now.”
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