London 'at risk of running out of burial plots'

London's councils are running out of space to bury the dead and three have no places at all, an audit by City Hall has revealed.

Lib Dem London Assembly member Hina Bokhari has called on the mayor to use his powers to prevent what she called "a real crisis point".

The audit predicted that 17 local authorities will no longer have space in the borough by 2040 while three – Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets – already have none.

Greater London Authority officials have told local authorities to re-use graves over a century old and increase the depth of graves to allow multiple burials in one plot.

London's population is ageing, with ONS data predicting the proportion of those 65 and over will be just over 40% by 2040.

City Hall's draft London Plan – the mayor's new spatial development strategy – tells boroughs that they may need to look to using low quality Green Belt land, known as 'grey belt', for additional capacity.

Bokhari told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The audit has made that really clear that there needs to be a strategic London-wide approach.

"There needs to be a plan, but there needs to be action behind that plan. And I want the Mayor of London to lead on that action.

"He can use his convening powers to bring in the cemeteries, to bring in faith communities, to bring in boroughs, to work on the process of getting that plan, to have a concrete way forward, because if in 15 years' time, we end up with no space in 20 boroughs, then what?

"He has that potential to do that. He has that ability to bring those people together. I don't want it just to be something where he just sits back and waits.

"It has to happen now, because 15 years is gonna go really quickly.

"At some point, it's going to be so prevalent that you cannot ignore it. So it's important that we talk about it now."

While local authorities have the power to provide and maintain cemeteries, they are not legally required to provide burial space.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "The draft London Plan makes clear that boroughs should plan pro-actively and collaboratively for the expansion, reuse, and long-term provision of burial space.

"In doing this, it's important that they recognise cultural and faith needs.

"Councils should also refer to the Audit of London Burial Provision, which provides evidence to support boroughs in developing local policies and planning for future burial provision, as part of their Local Plans."

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