Whakatāne District Council is undertaking expansion works at Tāneatua Cemetery.

Tāneatua Cemetery, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town, on State Highway 2, is owned and managed by the council.

The first recorded burial at the cemetery was in 1918.

The council’s open spaces operations manager, Ian Molony, said the project began on May 7 and involved infilling an area of low-lying land to create additional burial plots.

The council has been aware of the limited capacity of the cemetery for some time and had allocated $126,000 toward its expansion in the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 for the financial year ending 2025.

A report to the Tāneatua Community Board in July last year announced the project had commenced and a small wetland near the cemetery was being investigated. The need to assess the land against the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater had caused delays.

Moloney said yesterday that good progress had been made on site, with the infilling works now complete. Site reinstatement works were under way and are expected to be completed by the end of June.

The cemetery has remained open throughout the works and alternative access is available to help people visit safely. Photo supplied