£250,000 extension at Batley Cemetery to create 400 Muslim burial plots

The extension sits on a council-owned parcel of land to the lower side of the current cemetery and will be used for future burials.

It is common practice, where possible, to allow people of the same faith to be buried together and it is estimated that the current Muslim burial site within Batley Cemetery would reach capacity within the next 18 months.

There are several more years' capacity left for burials of other faiths within Batley Cemetery.

The works, for which planning approvals were secured in Autumn 2020 but saw delays due to the tendering process and pandemic, started earlier this week and will take several months to complete.

Works including landscaping, drainage and improved access will be undertaken in phases to mitigate any impact of weather, as well as allowing the ground to recover.

Coun Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council and a Batley councillor, said: "I am pleased to see work on this much-needed extension finally underway, providing some certainty that families in Batley will be able to bury loved ones close by.

"We’ve made sure that contractors will work sensitively around winter weather to avoid causing any undue disruption and mess within the cemetery.”

Coun Will Simpson, cabinet member for culture and Greener Kirklees, said: "With the existing cemetery only having enough capacity for another year or so, we hope that our investment in this extension will give local families reassurance that they will be able to lay loved ones to rest locally in the years to come."