Cemeteries Management Plan Gets The Green Light

A new management plan for Mākara, Karori and Tawa
cemeteries has been approved, following a unanimous vote by
Wellington City Councillors today.

Mākara Cemetery
and Karori Cemetery are both at critical points in terms of
capacity, and Mayor Andy Foster says the plan will set the
direction for how they are managed over the next 10 years
and beyond.

“The management plan follows an
extensive assessment of the city’s functional and
operational needs, with the aim of understanding changing
community needs and expectations, as well as providing for a
diverse range of views and beliefs.

“We engaged with
a wide range of cemetery users through an informal
pre-consultation, which was followed by a formal
consultation on a draft plan towards the end of last
year.”

Chair of the Pūroro Rangaranga | Social,
Cultural and Economic Committee, Councillor Jill Day, says
feedback received during the process was used to shape the
final plan.

“We’d like to thank everyone who took
the time to make a submission. The updated plan marks a new
era for Wellington city’s cemeteries, and will ensure we
can be sustainable where possible, and continue to meet the
needs of our growing city, now and in the
future.”

The Cemeteries Management Plan addresses a
wide range of issues, including:

• Providing for
  future demand by acquiring more land and doing the master
  planning for its development.
• Providing as much
  choice as possible for people’s diverse beliefs and wishes
  around burial and cremation.
• Streamlining the
  bookings and online information through a new Cemeteries
  Management System.
• Encouraging people to visit and
  enjoy our cemeteries for appropriate forms of recreation,
  and respecting the cemeteries as special places of peace and
  respite.
• Recognising the important cultural,
  historic and natural heritage in our cemeteries and planning
  how we will look after it.
• Encouraging and
  supporting community groups to work in partnership with us
  to care for and promote the heritage in our
  cemeteries.
• Assisting people interested in family
  history by improving access to online cemetery records and
  maps.
• Developing master plans to guide future
  cemetery development, landscape management and visitor
  wayfinding.
• Integrating sustainable management with
  cemetery operations where possible, for example through
  natural burials.

The final plan will be
published in mid-July.

Find out more at: https://www.letstalk.wellington.govt.nz/cemeteries

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