Broad Bay cemetery on Otago Peninsula has space for just six more burials, and needs to expand by next year or it will run out of room, the Dunedin City Council says.
The council has applied for resource consent to use vacant adjacent land it already owns to expand the cemetery, which will otherwise be full within 12 to 18 months, a report to be considered by the council's hearings committee next week says.
In the report, council planner Kirstyn Lindsay said the existing cemetery had space for 247 burial and 45 ash burial plots, but the adjacent site would provide room for another 56 burial and 92 ash plots.
That could extend the cemetery's life by up to 30 years.
The cemetery, established on a headland in 1869, was bordered on three sides by Otago Harbour, meaning the adjacent site offered the only room for expansion, the report said.
The council bought the adjacent 439sq m section, which had a capital value of $129,00, in September last year, with an eye to expanding the cemetery.
The owners of the two homes nearest the section were notified of the council's plans in September this year, and Keith Wates, of 7 Virginia Ave, objected to the proposal.
He claimed the expansion would affect his indoor-outdoor living area, which faced the area.
He argued the historic cemetery should be managed within existing boundaries.
The closest burial plot was 10m from Mr Wates' boundary, but expanding the cemetery would see the closest ash plot 2m from the boundary, the report said.
However, plantings and other improvements on the boundary were planned as part of any expansion, to help ease the possible effect on nearby homes, the report said.
Parking and vehicle-turning improvements would also be added at the cemetery's Virginia Ave entrance.
The application will be considered on Thursday. The report recommends consent be granted.
