Two possible sites have been found for a new cemetery as efforts continue to tackle diminishing burial space in Stockton.

Stockton Council chiefs are looking for a new site for burials as space is running out in the town’s Durham Road cemetery, which has about seven years’ provision left in it. A 2021 report had recommended a site for more than 100 years of burials.

Now it has emerged that two sites are being investigated as an update was given at a meeting of Stockton Council’s place select committee.

The chair, Councillor Chris Dawson, said: “I think there were two sites that have been identified quite early on. There’s a number of things that have to be done to progress those sites, to do some assessments of the water table, check whether they’re suitable sites.

“The first site was unregistered land. It’s taken a while to figure out who actually owns the land. The council contacted the landowner and started off that kind of conversation.

“On the other site, there was just no response to council letters. Eventually there’s been some correspondence with the landowner but it’s been further delayed.

“This isn’t going to be an overnight thing. There’s a lot of work still to be done. Officers… appreciated the urgency of the situation in terms of spaces.”

Asked what the “plan B” was in the meantime, he said: “They did say they were looking at other sites as well. It’s not as if there’s lots and lots of convenient sites.

“There’s a number of priority ones. The plan is to have them on the ideal sites.”

Cllr Louise Baldock said: “What happens if we get to a point where the existing cemetery provision in the town of Stockton has reached capacity before a new Stockton cemetery has had four years for the ground to settle?”

Cllr Dawson agreed cemeteries in Thornaby and Billingham – which have almost a century of provision left between them – could be used if necessary. He added: “I’m still hopeful it will be done. There’ll be something in place to allow that continuous provision in Stockton.

“But we’re not in control of that, there’s a number of external factors. Those sites need to be right. We can’t just put it anywhere.”

He said there were fortnightly meetings on the subject: “I’m satisfied this is on the agenda for officers and they’re doing all they can to move it forward.”

Cllr Baldock said the life of the cemeteries might be extended by people’s choices, with increasing numbers opting for cremation rather than burial. She said: “It depends on what rate people die and, within that percentage of people, what rate prefer to be buried rather than cremated.

“It’s not like there’s no provision. It’s just not necessarily exactly on people’s doorsteps.”

Cllr Dawson said following the meeting: “We need to have another cemetery in Stockton rather than rely on Billingham and Thornaby. It needs to be somewhere relatively central, but it needs to be in the right location as well.

“You’d be looking at 75 to 100 years’ worth of capacity for a site, ideally. It needs to be accessible.

“It has to be sites that wouldn’t be developed for any other residential or commercial use. There’s two that are top of the shortlist that are being progressed, but the officers might have others that are backstops as well.

“We want to get things moving. We want to provide people with local options.

“The council has identified a limited number of sites and progress is being made to check the water table is suitable for a cemetery. They’ve got to go through all these tests first.

“There’s no point in identifying somewhere that gets easily flooded. It needs to be the right sort of conditions for a cemetery.”

“I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm yet. We do have many many years of provision within the borough still. There’s certainly no kind of panic.”