Councillors to consider abandoning plans to explore creating new Melton graveyard
Councillors will decide this week whether to abandon plans to create a new graveyard in Melton Mowbray which would cost around £1M.
Cabinet members at Melton Borough Council will instead be recommended at their latest meeting to explore finding space for additional plots at the Thorpe Road cemetery.
Latest figures show, as of April 2026, that the graveyard has capacity for 286 more plots for burials and 71 for cremations which would be used up by 2035, in the case of interments, and 2029, regarding cremations.
The council had committed to spending £30,000 on a feasibility study to looks at potential new graveyard sites locally but cabinet members will be advised to use that money instead to help remove footpaths at the Thorpe Road site to create extra space – this would extend burial capacity for an additional six years to 2041 and space for cremations until 2051.
A document to go before the cabinet states: “The cemetery currently has a large number of internal tarmac footpaths between grave sections which can be removed without negatively impacting visitors.
“Removing selected internal footpaths, while retaining appropriate perimeter access, will allow additional grave space to be created while maintaining reasonable access around the site.”
The document adds: “Initial feasibility work identified that it will be complex and costly to identify and implement a new cemetery site (in excess of £1million).”
The council also plans to change its policy so that burial plots can no longer be bought in advance at Thorpe Road – they must be purchased at the time of interment instead.