The £3.7 million cemetery will have space for 978 lairs in the first phase, with capacity for over 2,000 in the long term.

The site will be landscaped with grassland biodiversity areas along two edges of the cemetery and a meadow.

“The new Pather Farm Cemetery has been designed to create a quiet, pleasant location for families and friends to remember loved ones, with greenspaces, wildflower planting and trees around the site,” said Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.

“The first phase of the cemetery will provide burial space for the community of Wishaw and surrounding areas for at least ten years.”

Work is expected to be complete on the first phase of the cemetery in May 2025.

Improvement works have been recently completed at other local cemeteries, including drainage at Old Monkland in Coatbridge and St Patricks in New Stevenston, footpath and drainage at Cambusnethan; and foundation works in a new section at Bothwellhaugh, within Strathclyde Country Park.

The Baby Garden at Cambusnethan cemetery has been refurbished, in consultation with local charity, Baby Loss Retreat.