A new policy could see hundreds of long-unused cemetery plots returned for community use.
The proposal, which is due to be formally adopted at Noosa Council’s ordinary meeting next Thursday, would establish a process for contacting people who reserved burial plots more than 25 years ago, or their descendants, to determine whether they still wish to retain them. Those who do not respond within 90 days could have the unused plots returned to council.
The move follows a review that identified about 225 unused reserved plots across the Tewantin, Pomona and Cooroy cemeteries, with uncertainty over many reservations that were made decades ago.
In a statement released today, council said the issue was particularly significant at Tewantin Cemetery, which has reached capacity for traditional new burials, while Cooroy and Pomona still have ample space.
Under the proposed Legacy Plot Reservation Management Policy, reservation holders or their next of kin would be contacted and given a 90-day period to confirm they wish to keep the plot.
If a plot is no longer required, it could be relinquished and made available for another family.
Director of Community Services Kerri Contini said many of the reserved plots dated back several decades, making it unclear whether they were still needed.
She said the policy was intended to create a structured and transparent process to identify unused plots while balancing respect for family history with the need to better use existing cemetery land.
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The council said people have always been able to voluntarily return reserved plots, but the new policy would allow it to proactively audit old reservations and contact plot holders or their descendants.
One plot has already been returned through the voluntary process.
Brisbane resident Cazna Coombs discovered while arranging the interment of her late partner Trevor’s ashes that he had reserved a burial plot beside his parents at Tewantin Cemetery in 1985. After deciding the plot was no longer needed, she returned it to council, allowing it to be used by another family.
Council said it would also retain a vacant plot at each of its three cemeteries as a safeguard in the rare event that a legitimate claimant comes forward after the notification period.
If adopted, the council will begin contacting eligible plot holders and descendants in the coming months.
