Demand for burial plots at Stirling District Cemetery leads to almost 30 per cent price hike for locals
It’s the Adelaide Hills cemetery where it’ll cost you more dead than alive – an almost 30 per cent price hike for burial plots.
Adelaide Hills
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Property prices for prestigious cemetery plots in Stirling are leaving residential real estate for dead.
While Stirling house prices have jumped by 18.1 per cent over the past year, burial plots at Stirling District Cemetery have recorded a 27 per cent increase on last year.
It comes as the Adelaide Hills Council cuts its discount for locals wanting to be buried at the site.
From this month, residents will be charged $3656 for a 50-year lease – an increase of $769 from last year, $7311 for a 100-year lease term – $1548 more than last year, and $15,928 for in perpetuity – up $3422.
The council’s manager of property services Natalie Westover said the steep price hike was necessary to reduce demand for the facility, which is near capacity.
She said it followed a failed application with The Native Vegetation Council that ruled out clearing an additional two-thirds of bushland across the 7ha site.
“While we hoped that we were going to expand it, the Native Vegetation Council has said no to that ... that would have given us an extra 10 years’ worth of capacity,” she said.
“So now, based on current take-up of plots, we’re looking at 2.5 years before we reach capacity.
“So we’ve taken a position to remove the resident discount so that residents and non-residents pay the same fee.
“It means that if money is an issue, then it may encourage people to use one of the other cemeteries that’s nearby and they still have residents’ discounts.”
Ms Westover said Stirling District Cemetery was the largest of the council’s 16 cemeteries.
“There’s a lot of history in that cemetery and a lot of long-term Hills families are buried there,” she said.
“So when you have generations, there’s a bit of a draw to be buried alongside or at least be in the cemetery as maybe grandparents and parents.
“I think that’s the main reason why it’s so popular, but also because of its proximity to Stirling, Aldgate, Bridgewater and Crafers.”
Stirling District Residents Association public officer John Hill said the price hike should have been absorbed by rates.
The council recently adopted a rate hike of $2.95 per cent, equating to an additional $59 per bill.
“You would have thought that, considering the big increase, the rates could have covered this,” he said.