Work Begins on New Cemetery in Bletchley

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 4th Apr 2005

Work starts this week on a new cemetery in Bletchley, which will eventually provide around 2,500 burial plots.

The eight-acre site in Selbourne Avenue should be able to start accepting burials by the summer, and will also provide facilities for cremated remains and memorials.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Douglas McCall, cabinet member with responsibility for cemeteries, said: "We are very pleased to be delivering this project on time. A lot of people have been very concerned about the lack of burial space in Bletchley, and this new facility will go a long way to alleviating that. We consulted widely on this issue and local people told us that they felt the Selbourne Avenue site had the most potential."

The first phase of the work involves landscaping and building an access road and car park into the part of the site that was previously occupied by allotments. (Some allotments have been kept, but moved slightly). The impact on the local wildlife will be minimised. It is anticipated this part of the site will be open for burials this summer.

The second phase involves development of the agricultural land to the East and West of the site, including a new entrance, pathways, roads and a car park. That work will begin as soon as agreements are reached with the tenant farmer.