New Carrickfergus cemetery plan ‘complicated’ by historic monuments find

A new 104-acre site has been identified by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council at Trooperslane Road.

However, the council’s Direct Services Committee was told at a recent meeting behind closed doors that “significant work was to be carried out to map out exactly the extent to which the site would be suitable for burials”.

A report to council stated: “This work became complicated because of a number of historic monuments within the site and this required the input from an archaeological expert.”

As a result of this work, it has emerged that 36 acres of this site have been found to be “unsuitable for burial” due to the presence of a gas pipeline and “proximity to nearby water courses” which is expected to reduce the purchase price by approximately £0.5m.

The committee was told in the report: “It was important to identify all those issues prior to commencing negotiations with the landowner as this significantly reduces the value of the land.

“Council is now in a position where negotiations with the landowner can commence in regard to agreeing a purchase price. Following these negotiations, a further report will be brought back to council in advance of a final decision.”

Director of Operations Philip Thompson told a meeting of the Direct Services Committee on Tuesday evening that 14 acres of land had been tested previously by the legacy Newtownabbey Borough Council, which, he suggested, had been in anticipation of amalgamation with Carrickfergus Borough Council in 2015. No problems were reported at this section.

He went on to say  the presence of the archaeological monuments, gas pipeline and 20 acre “buffer zone” around the water course would “drastically reduce” the value of the land by as much as £0.5m.

A spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has said previously:  “There is currently good capacity for approximately eight years remaining at Victoria Cemetery in Carrickfergus.”

Work on three new pathways at Victoria Cemetery is expected to be carried out before the end of March.

Council officers had also been due to commence further discussions with Antrim and Newtownabbey and Belfast Councils to determine potential “buy-in” to the new cemetery.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

Click here to read: Larne’s main cemetery at capacity in five years, council told

--

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.