GREAT BAY-- Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Patrice Gumbs has told Parliament that government intends to move toward a more structured and sustainable management system for burial grounds, including the future repurposing of unidentified, abandoned or unclaimed grave areas at existing cemeteries.
The Minister made the statement during the continuation of a parliamentary meeting requested by MP Darryl York on cemetery capacity, burial ground planning and related infrastructure policy. York used his opportunities to speak to press the Minister for more clarity on plans considering the sensitivity of the issue and questions circulating in the public. MP York also pushed for specific timelines and consultations.
While stressing the sensitivity of the issue, Minister Gumbs said St. Maarten’s limited land space requires government to examine new burial management practices, including grave reuse, cremation and possible fees for the prolonged use of burial plots.
He explained that the intention is not to immediately disturb known graves or areas where families have clearly identified loved ones. Instead, the first areas to be considered would be abandoned, unknown or unidentified graves, particularly in sections where the ministry cannot clearly establish who is buried where.
According to the Minister, large parts of the Cul de Sac cemetery include graves that are not properly identified. He said government has legal grounds to repurpose certain areas, but would do so with care, public awareness and further engagement.
“The idea is not that when we open up Belvedere as a new cemetery, we are no longer going to reuse Cul de Sac,” the Minister explained in Parliament. He said the goal is to “fundamentally change” how the Cul de Sac cemetery is currently used.
Minister Gumbs said the more practical approach would be to begin with areas where graves are abandoned, unrecognized or unknown, before moving into more sensitive areas that require deeper community engagement. He said cemetery representatives have also acknowledged the need to consider such measures because of the strain on cemetery space.
The Minister also noted that the issue is not limited to Cul de Sac. He said space concerns also exist at other cemeteries, including Simpson Bay and the Keys.
The discussion came against the backdrop of growing concerns about burial capacity in St. Maarten. Minister Gumbs said VROMI records an average of approximately 14 to 18 burials per month for which the ministry provides assistance. However, he explained that this figure does not represent the full mortality picture, because not everyone who dies in St. Maarten is buried on the island.
He said VROMI’s data is limited to the number of burials handled by the ministry. Broader mortality trends, causes of death, age groupings and related health data fall under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor. The Minister said if Parliament wants a more complete discussion on mortality data, the competent ministry should also be involved.
Minister Gumbs acknowledged that there is currently no formal cemetery capacity forecast based on mortality trends and burial practices. He said future planning would benefit from improved data systems and stronger inter-ministerial coordination.
At the same time, the Minister said VROMI is taking short-term steps to extend the use of the existing Cul de Sac cemetery. Additional vaults currently being constructed are expected to provide approximately six months of additional burial capacity. He said further interventions are being examined to provide at least another six months of coverage going into 2027.
The Minister said there is no fixed closure date for the Cul de Sac cemetery. He explained that government cannot responsibly close the existing cemetery without having another public cemetery ready, financed and properly managed.
Government’s focus for a new burial site remains the Belvedere Remainder area. Minister Gumbs said the land was purchased for both housing and cemetery purposes, with the decision to allocate land for those uses having been taken in 2023. The purchase was finalized earlier this year, and a land-use analysis was recently completed.
According to the Minister, that analysis is now being reviewed to determine the most suitable areas for cemetery use, housing and other land functions. He said the exact allocation of land for burial use has not yet been finalized.
Public consultations have also not yet taken place. Minister Gumbs said consultations will be part of the process and will focus on how the land is used, the most suitable areas for cemetery development, access, environmental safeguards, public health considerations and community concerns.
MP Darryl York challenged the Minister on the lack of clear timelines, numbers and public clarity. York said residents in Belvedere and Rice Hill are already expecting a burial ground in their vicinity, but do not know when it will happen, what exact area is being considered or how their input will be used.
York questioned how meaningful public consultation can be if the general location has already been identified. He asked the Minister to explain what residents will actually be consulted on and when that process will begin.
The MP also raised concern about the absence of a formal capacity forecast. He said mortality-related data does exist within government and should be used to guide planning. York argued that if VROMI is responsible for executing cemetery infrastructure, then the ministry should work across ministries to obtain the necessary data before determining how much land is required.
York said the country cannot plan for future burial needs based only on current burial numbers. He said government must understand the larger trends before deciding how much space should be allocated for a new cemetery.
He also pressed the Minister for a clearer estimate of how long the current Cul de Sac cemetery can continue operating with the additional vaults and other interventions. York said families are worried and Parliament needs information that is tangible.
The MP further asked what families should expect if grave reuse becomes part of future cemetery management. He specifically questioned whether the future plan includes exhumation of remains and whether such a process could begin during the Minister’s term.
Minister Gumbs responded that discussions with cemetery stakeholders have already started. He said the issue must be handled carefully, especially where loved ones are known and identified. However, he maintained that abandoned and unidentified areas would be the first logical places to consider for intervention.
The Minister said the current burial fee paid by families does not give them ownership of a plot. He explained that the fee is tied to the cost of preparing and closing a grave, and does not cover ownership, long-term maintenance or leasing of the burial space.
He said future policy discussions include the possible introduction of fees for the continued use of burial plots, similar to systems used in other countries. Such a change, he said, would require legal amendments, because the current legal framework does not accommodate that system.
Cremation is also being considered as a possible alternative to reduce the pressure on burial space. Minister Gumbs said cremation and grave reuse are among the options being explored as part of broader burial management reform.
On the area of the Cul de Sac cemetery previously used by the hospital and other medical institutions for medical waste, Minister Gumbs said that practice is no longer being applied. He explained that the opportunity being explored is the construction of a vault complex on top of that area at a higher elevation, rather than placing individual graves across the site.
The Minister also said current burial ceremonies meet environmental and public health safeguards. He noted that new or expanded cemeteries must comply with legal requirements, including ministerial approval, proper buffers from homes and wells, enclosure or equivalent safeguards, and burial depth and soil-cover standards.
Minister Gumbs further clarified that burial on private property on the Dutch side is generally not permitted. Burials are expected to take place in authorized burial grounds and must comply with the burial ordinance, planning rules and public health requirements.
He also said there is no formal bilateral agreement between the Dutch and French sides on shared burial capacity. Burial on either side depends on the applicable rules, documentation, approvals and available space in that jurisdiction.
Minister Gumbs said the concerns raised in Parliament are noted, but emphasized that several parts of the process still depend on land-use analysis, financing, stakeholder consultation, policy reform and inter-ministerial coordination.
He said government must balance the urgent need for burial space with the responsibility to plan properly, manage public land carefully and handle the issue of grave reuse with the sensitivity it requires.
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