A grave concern: Fears that Dewsbury Cemetery could run out of burial space 'in the next 12 to 18 months'

Campaigners have estimated that space at Dewsbury Cemetery - which is used by all faiths within the community - will run out within the next 12 to 18 months, a view which conflicts with the council’s belief that there are over 1,000 spaces available which will “last for a number of years.”

Mohammed Javed, who is the chair of Dewsbury Cemetery Action Group which is made up of funeral directors, Imams, priests and solicitors, says the current situation “is a concern for all of us,” as uncertainty grows as to what actually happens when the cemetery does eventually reach its capacity.

He said: “People in the industry have bereavement meetings on a regular basis with the council. We can physically see that the land is being depleted but we always thought the council would have a ‘Plan B’.

“At the last meeting we were told that the best projection scenario would be between 12 to 18 months in terms of the space the Muslims would have and not much better for the other faiths, maybe a couple of years.

“Even that isn’t sufficient because we have got, between all faiths and no faith, from their figures, around 400 graves.

“Kirklees hase said there are 1,000 graves. But where? I can’t physically see anywhere in Dewsbury Cemetery where there are 1,000 graves.

“That is for the council to tell all the people of the community where these council-owned graves are. Projections prior to that were in the region of seven to eight years. All of a sudden it has been depleted to 12 to 18 months. It is a concern for all of us.

“We’re not blaming them for the land being depleted but you would expect somebody from the council to be looking at council land or land that is available for sale to be able to provide a facility.”

Whilst Kirklees invested £250,000 in creating extra plots at neighbouring Batley Cemetery last year, Helen Wilson, a funeral director at George Brooke Ltd in Dewsbury, has insisted that people want to be “buried in the town they have lived” and that questions now need to be answered by the council.

She said: “I have worked for all of the communities in this town regardless of faith and belief and over the last 12 months the bottom section of the cemetery, where the Muslim families are buried, has become very full, very fast, mainly because of COVID.

“We have asked the question what will happen when the cemetery is full and we never get a straight answer. We never get a proper answer to this question.

“In 2018 I asked what would become of this and what will be the future plan. Nobody has ever answered that question.

“We know there is limited space for the Christian community which might last seven years but the land proportioned to the Muslim community is on its last months -18 months at the most probably.

“When I go out to families in a few years time and say, ‘I am so sorry, there are no grave spaces now in the local cemetery,’ and they will ask me what are there other options; people don’t want to be buried in Batley or Heckmondwike. They want to be buried in the town they have lived in all their lives.

“We need to know from Kirklees what are the options and what are they actually going to offer to people who want to be buried in Dewsbury.”

Christine Leeming, whose daughter Michelle is laid to rest in Dewsbury Cemetery , believes Kirklees Council has “a duty to the people of Dewsbury.”

“Once Dewsbury Cemetery is full, it is full and the council can’t be blamed for that because that is just the way things are. Every cemetery will get filled,” she said.

“But they must have known that Dewsbury Cemetery eventually is going to be filled. What they should have been doing is looking for a Plan B for when it is filled. They should have earmarked somewhere else.

“What they’re saying is that people can go to Heckmondwike, Batley or wherever. But they have a duty to the people of Dewsbury to be buried where they want to be buried.

“How long is it going to last? They have an obligation to the people of Dewsbury to find an alternative burial place in Dewsbury.

“All of my family are in there. My daughter, my parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins. They are all in Dewsbury Cemetery, “ said Mrs Leeming, who is also the treasurer of the community group New Friends of Dewsbury Cemetery.

“I’m alright because when my daughter sadly passed away I had the grave dug for three people, so I know that when I pass away I’m alright - I’ll be in Dewsbury Cemetery with my daughter.

“But that does not apply to a lot of other people.”

Kirklees Council told the Dewsbury Reporter Series that there are still, approximately, 1,000 burial spaces left in the cemetery on Cemetery Road, Dewsbury.

A spokesperson said: “Dewsbury has approximately 1,000 burial plots, which will provide capacity for a number of years.

“We are committed to making sure we can meet the needs of our communities long into the future.

“As such we have established plans to periodically review our burial capacity, whilst working closely with our stakeholders on the bereavement forum.”