Object

Representation ID: 22799

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Strutt & Parker LLP

The Policy requires for ‘at nil cost to the Town Council, safeguard land for an extension to the cemetery’. Obviously there is a value to land for burials and the inclusion of land for this type of community use will need to be off set against the provision of land for other community benefits, such as open space for sport and recreation. The exact location and extent of the cemetery extension will need to be agreed through the development of the Masterplan, but it is understood that there is a preference from the Town Council for this to be located on the east of the Site, to enable a new access from Heywood Road. In terms of current capacity, it has been confirmed that there are currently c. 1,800 plots available, equating to 40 years’ supply at the current rate of 45 burials per year. In February the Town Council resolved “To request that the extension of the Cemetery allows for an additional 60 years of burials/ashes at the current rate of burial”. This would provide a total of 100 years of land supply for the cemetery. We would suggest that the following work should be undertaken by the Town Council to substantiate and justify this request.
a. A Cemetery Risk Assessment – to ensure that the site is suitable in terms of the groundwater conditions.
b. A detailed Population Projection – to compare future death rates with population growth and religious groups.
c. A detailed assessment of future burial practice with reference to the move to a greater number of woodland/natural burials.

In any case, provision of an area of c. 3.4 acres (at 800 burial plots per acre) at nil cost to the Town Council could impact on the viability of the site and the ability of the site to deliver at least 200 dwellings as per the allocation wording. My client would question the extent to which projected future burial needs well into the next century and beyond the Local Plan period should be prioritised over the need to deliver housing to meet the identified needs during the Local Plan period. The Masterplan proposes an area of 1.2 acres which would provide an additional c. 20 years supply (as per the Local Plan period), and we would welcome further discussions with the Town Council and GNLP Team on this subject.