Waikato District Council has secured additional land to develop Tuakau’s new cemetery.
Service Delivery General Manager, Tim Harty, says Council has purchased an eight hectare property on Whangarata Road at a cost of $1,048,000 which is good news as there had been genuine concerns about the lack of suitable Council space for future burials.
“There is quite a long checklist when purchasing land to develop a cemetery including a suitable location and appropriate topography. So while there have been a number of options available in the community, we‘ve also hit a few bumps along the way.
“Securing the new site future proofs cemetery services for Tuakau and surrounding communities for at least another fifty years based on current population growth.”
He explains it also means they’re one step closer to meeting the objectives of a recently drafted Cemetery Strategy.
“The strategy is in its final stages and outlines future land requirements to allow us to provide cemeteries which will meet growth demands, religious and cultural requirements for the district.
Mr Harty says actual development of the new cemetery is still some time away as Council needs to undertake a design process detailing how the cemetery will be staged and developed, and development costs.
“It’s likely we’ll need to secure funding for the project through future Long Term Plans so we’re at least two or three years away from using the site.”
Council manages 22 cemeteries across the district.
- Tuakau Cemetery is situated south west of Tuakau Township on Alexandra Redoubt Road.
- The first burials recorded in the cemetery date back to the late 1800s.
- Tuakau cemetery also provides New Zealand’s only Baha’i cemetery and contains an area set aside for children’s burials.
- Alexandra Redoubt Cemetery, Pokeno Old Soldiers Cemetery and Rangiriri Old Cemetery are at capacity with no further development planned.
For more information please contact:
Erin Rangi-Watt
Senior Communications Advisor
Waikato District Council
07 824 8633 Extn: 5900
027 551 1601
erin.rangi-watt@waidc.govt.nz
