Whitby: Councillor would picket cemetery expansion plan

Scarborough Council has estimated that Whitby's cemetery (pictured) will reach capacity in the next four years

A Whitby councillor has said he will be "on the picket line" if expansion plans for the town's cemetery succeed.

The Larpool Lane site is part of the proposed £3m expansion of cemeteries in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey.

Councillors supported the scheme after a report said the site, along with Lawns Cemetery in Filey and Woodlands in Scarborough, would be full by 2030.

Councillor Alf Abbott said children would "have nowhere to play" if the plans for Whitby were approved.

Members of Scarborough Council's Lives and Homes Overview and Scrutiny Committee voted in favour of recommending the proposed expansion of cemetery provisions for approval on Wednesday.

A report said many existing cemeteries across the borough would no longer have the capacity to bury residents in coming years unless they are expanded or new sites are found

Though not a member of the committee, Mr Abbot, who represents the Whitby West Cliff ward, said Whitby residents should take the issue "in their hands and decide where they want the cemetery, not where Scarborough Council wants it."

He added: "If it's still playing around with Larpool Lane, personally, I will be on the picket line objecting to it."

Council officers said other proposed sites in Whitby were not feasible or would have been "prohibitively expensive", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Chair of the meeting, Councillor David Jeffels, said: "Perhaps, once this hits the media in Whitby, it may be that someone will come forward with an alternative site that we could consider."

Larpool and Woodlands cemeteries will be full within the next four years and Lawns cemetery within the next six to eight years, according to Scarborough Borough Council.

A final decision on the sites and expansions will be decided by the new North Yorkshire Council following next year's local government reorganisation.