Bradford cemeteries: Millions to be spent on boosting burial space

Work on expanding Bowling Cemetery could start this year

Millions of pounds will be spent on making a cemetery in Bradford bigger while work begins to create more burial space in the city.

The council plans to start a £2.38m expansion of Bowling Cemetery this year with work due to end next spring.

It is part of wider plans to spend almost £6m on boosting the city's cemetery provision in coming years.

A council report said the final phase would see a "major new cemetery to give long-term capacity beyond 2050".

Last year, Bradford Council announced it wanted to begin burials on vacant land that was purchased alongside Bowling Cemetery more than 140 years ago, but has never used.

A report to executive members states there were currently "extremely limited options for significant burial activity within the district other than that provided by the council".

It added there was "diminishing burial capacity" at the Muslim burial ground at Scholemoor and no suitable existing space within cemeteries other than Bowling.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said the investment would "modernise our existing facilities and ensure we create additional capacity".

"We want make sure we provide good-quality, sympathetic and beautiful surroundings for many years to come for residents when they say goodbye to their loved ones.

"It's such an important time for people."

The council's executive is being recommended to approve the plans at a meeting on Tuesday.