DO you have a plot of land you don’t know what to do with? Would you consider turning it into a cemetery?

Burial spaces in Gillingham are almost completely full – and the town council has hatched a plan to address the issue.

They want to hear from anyone who has a piece of land they could purchase in order to create a new cemetery to serve the town.

A town council spokesperson said: “Gillingham Cemetery was opened in 1890 and is the resting place for more than 4,000 (people).

“In 2015, the town council removed paths to create additional burial plots.

“However, the majority of these areas are now full, and the town council is looking for land to create a new cemetery.”

They said ideally, any proposed new site would be around four acres in size, and away from a watercourse.

In many countries on the continent, burial spaces are reused after a period of time.

The lack of this process in the UK means space is running out across the country.

According to the University if York, an audit of burial space in London, published in 2011, showed many authorities were struggling for burial spaces.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests the problem is not restricted to large metropolitan areas,” the university added.

“Other burial authorities also report problems, for example with financing the purchase of new land for burial and securing appropriate land at a reasonable distance from the community to be served.”

A BBC survey, completed in 2013, found a quarter of local authorities only had sufficient burial space to last 10 years – to 2023.

In December last year, cemetery experts called on the government to revisit the Victorian-era laws overseeing burials in the UK, which prohibit the reuse of graves.

Also at the end of last year, the Law Commission launched a review of burial and cremation law.

No date on any outcome is known.