Coltswood Cemetery – North Lanarkshire Council
Project case study – M Squared
Project & Client:
Groundworks & Soft landscaping at Coltswood Cemetery – North Lanarkshire Council
Overview: Increasing the capacity of a cemetery by preparing spaces for new plots, installing new pathways and completing soft landscaping
Project requirements:
Coltswood Cemetery was expected to run out of plots by 2026. North Lanarkshire Council approved plans to increase capacity by developing underused areas of the 3.62 hectare site. We were brought in to complete the groundworks and soft landscaping, following on from the council’s own teams removing council-owned trees around the cemetery.
Working to carefully approved plans set out by the council, we converted existing areas, including tree lines, public realm and seating areas, into 170+ new lairs for burials. We also identified space that could allow for an additional 28 lairs, and worked with the council to approve and create these.
“This was obviously an important, sensitive job. The cemetery is well used – it’s relatively new, opened in 2001, so most of the plots still have living relatives who were visiting. And there were still burials taking place most days.
“While mourners were on site for burials, we downed tools. There was no option for weekend work either, as that’s a popular time for people to visit graves.
“We focussed on getting the areas around the entrance completed quickly, to minimise disruption. We worked with the council and cemetery teams to identify extra areas for plots too.
“Our digging was very carefully done, especially where it was very close to existing lairs and headstones.
“All this made the job labour and time intensive.
“We were working on this in winter months too, so the weather conditions were challenging at time – we couldn’t pour concrete when the temperature dropped, for example.
“We’re pleased to have contributed to creating an important, peaceful place for families to bury their loved ones.”
Connor Kennedy – Contracts Manager
Deliverables:
- Cut back trees and derooted areas where council-owned trees had been removed
- Dug foundations and poured concrete to create new three
- Prepared areas for the installation of foundations for headstones
- Installed turf around lawn style lairs
- Installed new pathways to access new plots
Results:
- 200+ new lairs created within the cemetery grounds
- 28 additional lairs identified – on top of the original project scope
- New pathways and turf installed, leading to or surrounding new plots
