West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper calls for Burscough cemetery to be opened

Jun 25 2009 by Nick Moreton, Ormskirk Advertiser

CALLS have been made for a new cemetery and crematorium in Burscough to be opened as soon as possible.

West Lancashire Borough Council’s planning committee granted permission for a crematorium and burial ground at the Pippin Street site in October last year after Government inspectors raised no objections to the scheme.

The plans had to go before the Government because the development would normally be considered inappropriate for the Green Belt.

But the Government said the final decision should rest with the borough council after West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper wrote to Baroness Kay Andrews at the Department of Communities and Local Government, and Ms Cooper is now calling for it to be opened.

She said: “When I became an MP I could not believe that an area the size of West Lancashire had long run out of burial space and that the local council hadn’t met their moral obligation to their council taxpayers.

“Residents who have a family member die pay a premium to get their relatives buried or cremated in nearby local authority areas.

“This is unjust, unfair and morally unacceptable.

“Now we have secured planning permission and I am working to get the cemetery opened as quickly as possible, although I do appreciate that the crematorium will take longer to build.

“The current situation is that the developer is negotiating with interested parties with a view to signing contracts and beginning work; as well as negotiations about the Highway works associated with public transport access.

“I would expect the borough council to be active and supportive in working with the developer to get the facility open as soon as possible.

“West Lancashire residents need a cemetery now.”

Many people feel the facility is needed as the council does not have a crematorium and the borough is fast running out of burial space.

Grieving relatives often have to go to burial grounds out of the area, which can leave families facing an extra “death tax”, costing an additional £1,000 to bury their loved ones.

There is a crematorium in Scarisbrick, which families can use at no extra cost, but this is run by Sefton Council.

A spokesman for West Lancashire Borough Council said: “The borough council’s planning department have actively encouraged the developer and site owners to progress this cemetery development as soon as practicable and have offered, through the planning division, their full advice and assistance from the outset.”

No-one from project agents ADDC Architects was available for comment.