Golf course space needed for graves, council says

The council warned residents that they expected to run out of room for new burials in "a few years"

A council has said there is "no alternative" to converting a golf course into a graveyard to address a burial space shortage.

Bracknell Forest Council’s cabinet voted to use the pitch and putt area at Downshire Golf Complex to expand Easthampstead Park Crematorium and Cemetery.

The council warned without the extension residents would not be able to bury their loved ones within the borough by mid-2025.

But one objector said the area was "a vital resource for the local community".

The contentious plan had received hundreds of objections from users of the golf facility.

Martyn Osment said the loss of the pitch and putt area "would be a significant blow to recreational options in our area".

The two-hectare land would provide a total of 1,173 full plots, as well as 150 Muslim burial plots and 1,168 cremated remains plots.

The council said there were "multiple alternative facilities" four to five miles away, including Wokingham Family Golf, Golfplex, Lavender Park and Billingbear Park.

Assistant director of contract services at the council Damien James said other potential sites were "either unviable or not in the council’s ownership, which would mean purchasing additional land, making it uneconomic".

Paul Bidwell, cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said the plans were "emotional" but that they "don’t really have any alternative".

Leader of the council Mary Temperton said: “It isn’t just for the dead…it is for the living relatives, a place where you go and feel near.”