Pre-application plans to extend a cemetery at NI's third crematorium project have been entered at council

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) agreed a pre-application notice at its planning committee.

The £1m proposal is for a cemetery extension and ancillary works near Lisnabilla Road, Moira.

LCCC head of planning, Conor Hughes said: “This is the third part of a cemetery development.

“It is due to be up for public consultation.

“An earlier application for the cemetery was some years ago, but the full application never arrived, so it needed to be entered again.”

According to a LCCC cemetery strategy plan, currently the only council graveyard that has space for new plot sales is Lisburn New Cemetery Extension at Blaris Road, with full capacity expected to be reached by 2024.

A new plan to extend a further 720 graves at the cemetery is anticipated to be completed next year.

Until recently, only one crematorium operated in Northern Ireland located at Roselawn, which is within the LCCC boundary.

However, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council opened Northern Ireland’s second crematorium on the Doagh Road, Newtownabbey in June following a £5m investment by the local authority.

Planning permission for the Moira crematorium has already been granted at LCCC, with the intention that it will be privately operated.

Though a plot of land has been cleared in the area, it is not clear how advanced the plans are.

The public consultation on the cemetery extension plans to the Moira crematorium, which could require an environmental impact report, will take place at Maghaberry community centre on September 20.