Pitch and putt graveyard plans set to be approved

Plans to convert a golf course into a graveyard to address a shortage of burial spaces are set to be approved.

Bracknell Forest Council is proposing to use the pitch and putt area at Downshire Golf Complex to expand Easthampstead Park Crematorium and Cemetery to provide more than 1,000 burial spaces.

More than 400 residents have objected to the scheme, arguing that the loss of playing space would hinder the local sporting community.

Paul Bidwell, cabinet member for economy and regeneration, admitted the plans were "emotional" but said council leaders "don't really have any alternative".

The authority opted to use the land back in November after warnings that the borough would run out of burial spaces by mid-2025.

If the planning application is approved it would mean the loss of the existing nine-hole pitch and putt course, used by more than 150 children a week.

The two-hectares of land would provide a total of 1,173 full plots, as well as 150 Muslim burial plots and 1,168 cremated remains plots which is estimated to provide burial space for a further 25 to 30 years.

The authority said it would build a new road within the cemetery to allow for access to the new graves, which would require the removal of some hedge.

Under planning law, land used for leisure purposes should not normally be converted for different uses, unless it is replaced by an "improved facility" elsewhere.

However, 27 letters of support have been received by the council on the scheme, arguing that the new space will be a "much-needed facility for the Muslim community", whose faith requires burial after death.

Leader of the council Mary Temperton said: "It isn't just for the dead…it is for the living relatives, a place where you go and feel near."

The proposal is set to be discussed by Bracknell Forest Councils' planning committee on Thursday.

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