ISSUES around "unreliable" historical cemetery records have left council officers trying to work out if pre-purchased graves have been sold more than once.
A halt had to be called on new burial purchases for Christchurch Cemetery in December, with this remaining the case unless more space can be found.
At the time BCP Council said "historical low availability levels" and a commitment to "pre-purchased plots" meant requests could not currently be accepted.
However, a response to Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope by a senior officer, seen by the Daily Echo, said that the unitary council had inherited cemetery records for the Jumpers Road site which had not been kept "as assiduously over the last 10 years as the service would have hoped".
This had led to the temporary stop on new burial purchases while records were consolidated and checked, the officer said.
Read more: Christchurch Cemetery temporarily stops new graves purchases
They added: "The bereavement team remain confident that there are still vacant burial spaces to be found within Christchurch Cemetery, but the historical record keeping is proving unreliable.
"We need to determine if any pre-purchased graves have been sold more than once, which we need to reconcile against the current burial records to ensure we can honour these commitments first, before any new graves can be made available.
"It is possible that more pre-purchased graves have been sold than the overall available grave space identified as of today."
In December, the local authority said geo and topography mapping of the cemetery was taking place to ensure all available space was exhausted.
The officer's letter to Sir Christopher, which was sent in mid-January, said this was "yielding some success".
Read more: Poole Crematorium refurb work will see funeral service pause
"Therefore, once we are sure we can honour pre-purchases, we may be able to re-open the graveyard to new purchases," the officer said. "As a matter of urgency, we are seeking additional resources to help us reconcile the historical burial data and that held by the local funeral directors."
Sir Christopher told the Daily Echo he had been contacted by both residents and undertakers who had concerns about the situation at the cemetery.
He described as "alarming" the discovery that proper records had not been kept.
"The undertakers were concerned about being kept in the dark," the Conservative MP said. "They first wrote to me when somebody who was expecting to have a burial on the Saturday was told on the Thursday or the Friday that it couldn't take place. It was extremely short notice that is was being closed in the first place.
"There doesn't seem to have been any liaison on this at all and that is an issue of concern.
"Whether people are looking after graves that are already there or whether they are thinking of having a new grave, people want to have some clear information on it all."
The council also told Sir Christopher it was important that new burial sites could be found across the Christchurch borough to meet future demand.
Read more: Poole family devastated by council's grave site suggestion
A site in Burton had been identified in Christchurch Borough Council policy documents and planning approval was obtained on appeal, however, this had now expired.
"The service is seeking to secure temporary specialist consultancy to bring forward an options report based on the provision of new burial sites across the BCP Conurbation, with emphasis on increasing burial capacity within both Poole and Christchurch," the officer said.
"However, it could take up to three years to bring any potential site into operation, in which a year’s ground water testing must be undertaken before any planning permission could be sought. It is hoped that enough reliable space can be found within Christchurch Cemetery to bridge this time span."
Sir Christopher said: "If there was a planning permission in respect of Burton, why was it never renewed to extend the time.
"What residents are interested in is the answers and ensuring their is a place they can put their loved ones to rest in our locality."
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