A new cemetery for the Whakatāne district is not as urgent as first thought, thanks to the increasing number of people choosing to be cremated.

Whakatāne District Council announced in March 2022 it was searching for land it could purchase to create a new cemetery.

It estimated the district's primary cemetery at Hillcrest had space for 550 more burials and expected it to reach full capacity by 2028.

To cater for the needs of the community over the next 100 years, the council was looking for between 11 and 17 hectares of predominantly flat or rolling land within 10 to 15 minutes' drive of the Whakatāne town centre.

In a report to the council's finance and performance committee last week, the need for a new cemetery was reported to be less urgent than previously predicted.

New calculations indicated a capacity for about another 15 years at the lawn cemetery and 13 years in the RSA section.

Councillor Andrew Iles questioned how this had occurred.

"It was quite revealing to find that, all of a sudden, we seem to have not acquired more land ... but we've got now another 15 years' usage."

Community experience general manager Georgina Fletcher said the council had conducted an analysis of trends around end-of-life decisions, such as burial or cremation in the district.

"Based on what we have been seeing, there is a boost in the number of cremations. Based on our calculations, we do have some more time than we initially thought to find alternative land, but it still remains a priority. It's still a big task."

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