Three Rivers District Council discuss lack of grave space (From Watford Observer)

Three Rivers District Council discuss lack of grave space

8:48pm Thursday 29th July 2010 in

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Councillors met tonight to discuss what to do about a cemetery in Rickmansworth which will be full in “four or five years”.

Members of Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) public services and health committee debated the potential conversion of five council owned sites.

Woodcock Hill Cemetery, in Harefield Road includes a traditional cemetery, with a Muslim and children's section, and a woodland cemetery - a natural site with no headstones.

A report presented to the committee said that there was only enough space in the traditional cemetery for four to five years.

Five sites currently owned by TRDC were considered, as well as the option to extending the existing Woodcock Hill site in collaboration with neighbouring landowners.

The potential sites discussed, and subsequently ruled out, were:

• Land next to the cemetery in Chorleywood House Estate;
• An large, easily accessible site, but is one of six local nature reserves.
• Land next to Lavrock Lane, Croxley Green;
• Suitable size and well secluded, but adjacent to school playing fields and access issues.
• The former garden centre site in Sandy Lane, Northwood;
• Easy Access, but land available is fairly small, and there would be a loss of rental income of £22,600 per annum from the garden centre.
• Land next to 40 Church Hill, Bedmond;
• Space is limited, and what land is available 50 percent wooded with several significant trees.
• Land next to Anthony Close, South Oxhey;
• Reasonable access, and fairly secluded site, but no scope to work with the Countryside Management Service to minimise ecological impact of burials.

Alison Page, environmental protection, said: “None of these are entirely suitable for a graveyard but they are the only sites TRDC own which are large enough.”

Conservative councillor David Sansom disagreed with the report's figured, suggesting the traditional cemetery had enough space for eleven years, the Muslim section 28 years, and the woodland cemetery 125 years, but agreed that a new site still needed to be found.

The situation will be addressed again in November.