Council chiefs are planning to create a new 'pet cemetery' following requests from the public. There is currently no designated area in Stoke-on-Trent for the scattering or placement of pet ashes.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is now proposing to turn an area of Carmountside Cemetery into a garden of remembrance for pets. Members of the public wishing for a final resting place for their furry companions will be able to scatter their ashes in the garden and lease a plot for a memorial.

The council also hopes to raise income through the sale of memorial products, both for the garden and the home. The area of Carmountside is not suitable for the burial of human remains, and so it is currently unused.

While the proposal is listed among the city council's budget savings for 2025/26, it is only expected to generate around £3,000 a year. But Lynn Watkins, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, told scrutiny committee members that there was a demand for the garden of remembrance in Stoke-on-Trent.

She said: "The authority has been approached by residents in the past about providing a garden of remembrance for pets. At the moment if anyone loses a pet, the service is paid for at the vets, and then if you wish to have the ashes scattered somewhere, there's nowhere in the city that does that.

The council hopes to raise income through the sale of memorial products (Nub News).

"It's not going to be a big income generator, but we just thought it would be something positive, as people have asked for it in the past. There could also be the sale of memorial plaques and name plates".

Stephen Gunther, director of public health, added: "We have an asset at Carmountside sitting there un-utilised, and as we've been approached by local residents, it is something we're looking at. It will be very low numbers at this point, we're just exploring it and testing it out."

Members of the adult social care, health integration and wellbeing scrutiny committee suggested that the council could also look at providing a pet cremation service.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council are among the authorities in England which currently provide a similar service, with both reporting low but steady demand.

Sandwell currently charges £131 for ashes scattering with a small inscribed plaque, and £729 for a large memorial with an urn.

The business case for the garden of remembrance proposal states that it is possible that demand will not be high enough to cover the maintenance costs, and so this will be 'monitored and managed'.

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