Golf course graveyard conversion plans approved

Plans to convert a golf course into a graveyard to address a shortage of burial spaces have been given the green light.

Bracknell Forest Council's planning committee approved a proposal to use the pitch and putt area at Downshire Golf Complex to expand Easthampstead Park Crematorium and Cemetery.

It will provide more than 1,000 new burial spaces in the borough, which the authority previously said would run out of provision by mid-2025.

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

The application was passed on to the planning committee after council leaders opted to use the land back in November.

Mr Price, an objector who attended the meeting, said to the committee: "In an age where we are striving to keep our children away from electronic devices and to get them active in secure spaces, this area of the golf course is of vital importance."

He said the nine-hole course has supported professional golfers and elderly people.

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

It is estimated to provide burial space for a further 25 to 30 years.

Mr Price said a suitable replacement for the facility "must be offered" but council officers said this type of planning application did not require alternative provision to be identified.

Members of the planning committee said it would be "very, very sad" to lose the leisure facility but the need for new burial spaces was "too great".

Supporters of the scheme have said the new space would be a "much-needed facility for the Muslim community", whose faith requires burial after death.

The plan will go before the council for final approval later this year.

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