MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The Manchester Parish Council is currently taking steps to officially declare the more than 80-year-old Mandeville Municipal Cemetery on Grove Road closed.

There are about 20 spots remaining on the four-acre-property, and they have already been reserved and paid for, the council said. It added that the information will shortly be published in the Jamaica Gazette, and a sign indicating the closure posted at the site.

As a replacement, the council has its sights on Melrose Cemetery in Williamsfield, where it says it will do varied styles of burials in order to maximise space. The Melrose location covers more than five acres.

“We are looking at a different sort of thing from what we had at the Mandeville Cemetery. We are looking at multiple burials as well as normal single burials,” Mayor Brenda Ramsay told the Jamaica Observer Central.

This approach, she said, would allow for the construction of vaults which will facilitate more efficient use of space. The arrangement will also accommodate family members who want to be buried together.

Ramsay said the Council was also exploring the possibility of another cemetery in Knockpatrick, on lands received from bauxite/alumina company Alumina Partners of Jamaica. In addition to the Mandeville and Melrose cemeteries, there are other burial plots in the parish, including that at Brokenhurst in the Knockpatrick Division, another in Wickwar in the Johns Hall Division, and one each in Coco Walk and Park Hall in the Grove Town Division.