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The Fencing of Swimming Pools Act was introduced to protect young children from the danger of drowning.
The Council has 112 units in Kaiapoi, Oxford, Rangiora and Woodend for people over 65 with limited means.
You can share your views about the Council's plans and projects by making a submission.
The Waimakariri District Council is one of the largest employers in the Waimakariri District and has become an employer of choice.
The Waimakariri District Council operates seven cemeteries. There are also 14 church cemeteries and three Maori cemeteries located throughout the district.
At its meeting on 4 August 2020 the Council placed a suspension on the reservation of cemetery plots until the new Cemetery Strategy and Policy has been adopted.
Note: Plots can still be purchased if required for a current burial.
We're asking the community for feedback on a draft Cemetery Policy. This has been developed to guide how Council cemeteries are managed day-to-day, and to cover things like memorial headstones, grave decorations, gravesite maintenance, the natural environment and reservation of ashes or burial plots.
We'd love to hear your thoughts. Click here to share your feedback and to view the draft Policy.
The Waimakariri District Council cemeteries:
Enquiries regarding burials or purchase of plots should be directed to the appropriate service centre. There are a number of church cemeteries throughout the district. Burial records for church cemeteries are held by the respective churches.
Double-depth burials are only accepted at the Oxford and Cust-Mairaki Cemeteries because the ground conditions at the other cemeteries are not suitable. Where plots have already been reserved at Kaiapoi for double-depth burials these will be permitted.
Burials may be carried out between the hours of 9 am and 3.30 pm Monday to Friday, and until 12 noon on Saturdays during the winter. During the summer burial hours are extended to 4 pm Monday to Friday.
New Zealand has specifically designated areas within public cemeteries, and stand-alone individual cemeteries, for the interment of veterans, irrespective of whether death was due to service or to natural causes. These are called Services Cemeteries and there are now 184 of these throughout New Zealand.
The Waimakariri District Council has Services Cemeteries at the Kaiapoi Public Cemetery and the Rangiora Lawn Cemetery.
Ex-service personnel who have had war service, or service that is defined as equivalent to war service, and their spouses/partners may be buried in a Services Cemetery. Each person's eligibility for burial is confirmed by the Council prior to the funeral booking being accepted.
The Burial and Cremation Act does permit the burial of the spouse/partner of a veteran in a services cemetery. It is accepted custom and practice that the interment of the spouse/partner must occur after the interment of the eligible veteran. This practice has come about because if the partner is interred first, there is no guarantee that the veteran will be interred in the same plot upon the veteran's subsequent death. If the personal circumstances of the veteran change, that person may never be interred with the spouse in the services cemetery, resulting in a partner occupying a plot that has been set aside for an eligible veteran.
The Council's cemetery services are delivered by the Council’s Parks and Recreation Unit with administration services managed by Customer Services. Cemetery maintenance and burial services are delivered under contract; all graves, including ashes graves, must be prepared by the Council’s contractor. Ashes may not be scattered at the Council cemeteries or at any public park or reserve.
The family of the deceased are responsible for maintaining the memorial in good condition. The Council does not accept responsibility for damage or vandalism to monuments.
In order to maintain the overall cemetery environment for the benefit of all users, grave memorabilia that does not comply with the cemetery standards will be removed by the Council contractor.
For further information on cemeteries in the Waimakariri, please contact Customer Services on 0800 965 468 or email office@wmk.govt.nz.
