Land identified in St Catherine to address issue

A new area of land has been identified by the St Catherine Parish Council to ease the problem of inadequate burial spaces in the parish.

This was revealed during a tour of the area by local government representatives. The new burial area that has been identified is 10 acres of land in Church Pen, Old Harbour, that has been already been cleared and will also be used for the expansion of the Church Pen Cemetery.

"We have spent about $17 million to clear this section and erect perimeter fencing. We are going to do further expansion, which will make it a total of 25 acres, " Mayor Norman Scott said.

He added that there will also be a chapel and other structures before the completion.

His views were echoed by Local Government minister, Noel Arscott, who said that he has made representation for other parishes to get new cemeteries.

"St Catherine has being running out of burial spaces for years now. I think this new addition will assist in easing that problem, " Arscott said.

The minister noted that upon completion, it will be a public cemetery with an area for urns, as well as an area where children will be buried.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Roads and Works at the St Catherine Parish Council, Everton Ricketts, endorsed the development.

It was the consensus among the group that the Commodore Cemetery was 99 per cent full, while Old Harbour Bay Cemetery, Number Five Cemetery and Church Pen Cemetery had reached their full capacity.