Hautapu Cemetery
A Cambridge resident has raised concerns about how a proposed roundabout will affect the peace and integrity of the nearby cemetery – and if the land earmarked contains graves.
Waipā District Council says the land required for the project at the intersection of Hautapu and Victoria roads has long been earmarked for roading and no occupied areas of the cemetery will be affected.
A plan of the proposed roundabout.
Wendy Campbell has written to the council questioning the location of the roundabout, which would extend onto land previously allocated for cemetery use.
Service Delivery group manager Eeva-Liisa Wright said the 1.25 hectares needed for the roundabout were identified in the council’s Cemeteries Concept Plan as land to be reserved for roading alongside a proposed roundabout.
“The design has been developed so that no occupied areas of the cemetery are affected,” Wright said.
Campbell, who was concerned about the potential disruption to mourners during construction, noted burial records prior to 1909 were lost in a fire.
Campbell also asked why the roundabout could not be built on the opposite side of Victoria Rd. She called for barriers and landscaping to be installed as early as possible if the project proceeds.
Wright said council recognised the site was sensitive for families with loved ones buried nearby.
“Any work close to the cemetery will be planned and carried out in a respectful way, with appropriate care taken throughout.”
Construction of the roundabout, part of wider transport improvements in the area, is scheduled to begin in May 2028 and is expected to cost up to $14 million.
Wright said families of those buried at the cemetery would be contacted where details were known.
Meanwhile, work has started on a 2.3-hectare stormwater basin to capture stormwater runoff from the Hautapu industrial area and development areas that will eventually surround it.
Hautapu Cemetery was established in June 1866 with Dugald Charles Edward S. MacColl, who died on 6 August 1866, the first recorded burial. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Roadworks two years ago saw a new fence established on the Victoria Road side of Hautapu Cemetery. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
