Case Study: Chesham Town Council identifies £12,000+ new income and improves cemetery management with Ordnance Survey mapping

Chesham Town Council - Customer Case Study

Chesham Town Council faced inaccurate, hand-drawn cemetery maps dating from 1858 that led to wrong counts of available plots and difficulty helping the public and staff locate graves. To modernize records the council engaged Ordnance Survey, using the OS MasterMap Topography Layer alongside Pear Technology’s Cemetery Management system to create a large-scale, digital mapping solution.

Ordnance Survey (in partnership with Pear Technology) delivered a bespoke GIS map that plots and numbers graves, flags reserved/occupied/available plots, and links digital burial records and headstone photos. The project identified 58 new grave spaces—generating over £12,000 of potential income at £217 per exclusive right of burial—while speeding up grave location tasks for staff and improving public search times.

Chesham Town Council

Kathryn Graves

Policy & Projects Officer