A NEW £1 million-plus privately-operated cemetery has opened near Keighley Tarn. Those behind the scheme – the first of its kind in the Bradford district for over a century – say the project is already providing a potential model for similar initiatives nationally. When plans to turn the old Braithwaite Edge quarry site into a burial ground – accommodating up to 2,000 graves – were first put forward by Keighley Community Cemetery, there was fierce opposition from some residents. Concerns were voiced that water courses could be contaminated and there were fears over increased traffic levels. But there was also strong support for the scheme and the plans were given the go-ahead by Bradford Council s regulatory and appeals committee in 2015, with councillors voting six-to-one in favour.
A NEW £1 million-plus privately-operated cemetery has opened near Keighley Tarn. Those behind the scheme – the first of its kind in the Bradford district for over a century – say the project is already providing a potential model for similar initiatives nationally. When plans to turn the old Braithwaite Edge quarry site into a burial ground – accommodating up to 2,000 graves – were first put forward by Keighley Community Cemetery, there was fierce opposition from some residents. Concerns were voiced that water courses could be contaminated and there were fears over increased traffic levels. But there was also strong support for the scheme and the plans were given the go-ahead by Bradford Council s regulatory and appeals committee in 2015, with councillors voting six-to-one in favour.
A COMMUNITY cemetery has expressed its frustration at red tape blocking its ability to help ease the pressure on burials at the district’s other cemeteries. The work to create Keighley Community Cemetery is not fully completed but it has offered to begin burials at the site, as Covid-19 has increased the number of deaths in the district had put added pressure on burial grounds, it claims. However, following the contentious approval of the plans in 2015, a number of conditions were put in place for the site and the developers have had to jump through a number of hoops. It’s owners Michael Ainsworth Design Partnership have said that conditions around planting of trees and other foliage on the site, required in the conditions, have not yet been completed which legally mean it cannot open, but has asked for Bradford Council to show some leniency to allow burials to take place.