Reading needs more Muslim burial space to avoid running out in three years

Reading Borough Council has been operating the Henley Road Cemetery since 1927

Reading needs to double its cemetery space by 2027, with the "biggest pressure" coming from an increase in Muslim burials, council leaders said.

The council is proposing plans to expand one of its cemeteries which it predicts will run out of Muslim plots in three years.

Henley Road Cemetery has adjacent council-owned recreation land that could be used for extra plots.

The council said burial space was "at a premium" in most urban areas.

'Future demand'

Recent Reading Borough Council figures show the cemetery, which is one of three council-owned grounds, has a demand for an average of 114 new grave spaces per year.

It said Christian plots would run out in 12 years if it was not expanded, but that space for Muslim graves would run out in three years.

Mohammed Banaras, chairman of the Reading Islamic Centre, said more Muslim burial plots were needed in the town to cope with "an increased Muslim population in Reading".

Census figures show this population has grown from 3.1% in 2001 to 7.1% in 2011.

He said Muslims needed a separate burial site because Islamic tradition required a swift burial, and that the remains need to face Mecca.

Also cultural shift in the community of British Muslims of Pakistani origin means more Muslims are choosing to be buried in the UK instead of having their remains repatriated - as is the tradition.

Reading's proposal is to bring back into use a one-hectare (2.5-acre) piece of land originally set aside as cemetery land nearly 100 years ago, and which is mainly used by dog walkers.

A Policy Committee report recommends approving the land for burial space, which will be discussed on 2 November.