Scarborough Borough Cemetery Consultation Out Today

A public consultation on future cemetery sites in Whitby, Scarborough and Filey begins on Tuesday.

The council’s current cemetery sites at Larpool (Whitby), Woodlands (Scarborough) and Lawns (Filey) are estimated to reach full capacity at different times.

Based on current burial rates and number of available burials plots for each cemetery, it is estimated that Larpool and Woodlands will have reached full capacity in the next four years and Lawns cemetery in the next six to eight years. Dean/Manor Road cemetery has already reached full capacity. It should also be noted that although Larpool and Woodlands cemeteries are directly managed by the Council, Filey Town Council have the lease for and are responsible for managing Lawns cemetery.

Although the provision of burial land is not a statutory function of a local authority, this Council has for many years provided such facilities for its residents and the public expectation would be for this to continue. At the time of writing the up to date position on the feasibility studies were as follows:

Whitby

The parcel of land that was initially considered in Whitby for potentially a future cemetery site was Council owned land to the south of Whitby Abbey (an English Heritage site), located off Green Lane. A “Heritage Statement” had been produced on behalf of CDSL by Durham University. This assessment comprised a search of relevant documentary and cartographic records, records of archaeological interventions, the Historic Environment Record and a site walk-over survey. Although the conclusion was that there was no direct impact on known assets at Whitby Abbey from the potential development, the possibility to contain previously unrecorded archaeological remains, would probably need to be mitigated through an appropriate scheme of archaeological works. The associated costs of such works are likely to be prohibitively high and render it unviable for a future cemetery site.

In addition, CDSL conducted detailed “sequential testing” exercise to consider other possible locations in Whitby for future cemetery provision. At the time of writing this report, six other sites had been considered.

Site 1: Land south of Whitby Abbey, ruled out due to the heritage value, extent of archaeological works and associated costs

Site 2: Land south of California Road (owned by the Council) was ruled out due to the steep topography and proximity to watercourse

Site 3: Site at Rohilla Close (close to Larpool cemetery) had been developed into a housing estate

Site 4: Existing Larpool cemetery site was reviewed, but the conclusion was there was no capacity, or scope for additional burials here, beyond the next four years

Site 5: Fields beyond Eskdale School, Stainacre Lane were unsuitable for cemetery use, because the site comprised playing fields used by the School and the other section had been earmarked for housing development on the Local Plan.

Site 6: Land off Stainacre Lane (in proximity to the Waste Treatment Works) is privately owned, but potentially suitable for cemetery development. To date we have had limited correspondence with the land owner.

Site 7: Under used sports field off Larpool Lane/Drive (4.4 acres or 1.8 ha, pictured). Currently favoured over Site 6 as the land is owned by the council and CDSL feasibility study of the site suggests it may be suitable. CDSL completed a “T2” groundwater risk assessment report on site 7’s suitability for cemetery use on 12 March 2019. In general, they concluded that it was suitable for such use. They did detect possible evidence of “ridge and furrow” features across the entire site. CDSL advised that as part of any planning process for this site it is likely that a geophysical survey would be requested to assess potential for below ground archaeological remains. An indicative total cost for developing this land for cemetery use has been put in the region of £550,000.

As far as the Council is concerned the main potential risk is the fact that the land is designated a “football field” and so any proposals to remove such a facility may attract an objection from Sport England. Informal discussions with the Council’s Sports Development Manager have revealed that none of the local football teams play on this field and in practice it is unused as a sports facility. Furthermore, in 2019 it was announced that Eskdale School in Whitby had been awarded a grant from the Premier League, the FA and Government’s Football Foundation, to install a new floodlit 3rd Generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP). This facility was built and opened earlier this year and will be used by not only a number of local football teams, but also hired on a casual basis, by other local groups. Despite the above factors, in order to counter potential objections, the Council will need to demonstrate that either this location is not suitable for use as a sports pitch, or there is a surplus provision of pitches in the area. This was demonstrated when the Council’s Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) was published and approved by Full Council on 6 September 2021. In the PPS, on page 27 it stated:

“The (adult) football pitch at Larpool Lane, Whitby has not been factored into the calculations owing to its significant limitations (lack of changing, sloping site, single pitch only, etc.) and is not considered a sustainable option for future pitch provision. Therefore, it can be considered for disposal.”

Scarborough

The parcel of land being considered in Scarborough as potentially a future cemetery site is Council owned land to the North East of the existing Woodlands cemetery site. The land, covering an area of 5.9 acres or 2.4 ha as shown in Appendix 2, is currently leased out to a local farmer for grazing farmed animals.

CDSL completed a report on the site’s suitability for cemetery use, which was submitted to the Environment Agency (EA) for comments as part of a “T2” Audit assessment. In essence the site has been classified as “high risk” mainly due to the predicted burial numbers, presence of a nearby watercourse and the confirmed presence of ground water within three metres of the surface. The EA responded to the “T2” Audit assessment at the end of March 2018, stating that, in order to protect ground water from risk of contamination from cemetery development, a detailed risk assessment and proposed mitigation measures would need to be put forward for their approval. Subsequently, CDSL submitted such a report in July 2018 and in September 2018 the EA responded to CDSL’s risk assessment and proposed mitigation measures to state they were acceptable, in principle.

Due to the known risks associated with the nearby watercourse and groundwater it is estimated that bringing this land into cemetery use will involve an expensive solution to mitigate against water logging/flooding, involving a complex network of dewatering and surface drainage (estimated in the region of £750,000). This cost represents phase 1 of 2 and would provide cemetery provision for the next 25 years.

The land is currently let to a farmer under a “Farm Business Tenancy”. Unless the parties agree to an immediate surrender of the land, the Council can reclaim the land by giving 12 months’ notice to the farmer by 31 December 2025 (thereafter, a notice served part way through a year couldn’t take effect until 31 December the following year). Given the prediction for when the current cemetery is due to reach full capacity, this should not present an issue. However, it is a legal matter the Council must consider and comply with as part of this project.

Filey

The parcel of land being considered in Filey as potentially a future cemetery site is Council owned, located to the South of the existing Lawns cemetery site. The land, covering an area of 2.47 acres as shown in Appendix 3, is currently in use for arable purposes. CDSL had completed a report on the site’s suitability for cemetery use, which had been submitted to the Environment Agency (EA) for comments as part of a T2 Audit assessment. In essence the site has been classified as “moderate risk” mainly due to the predicted burial numbers. However, there were no major risks with groundwater since none was struck within 3.5 metres of the surface during testing. The EA subsequently responded to state they had no objections to the proposals in principle. CDSL estimate the cost of bringing this land into cemetery use is in the region of £200,000.

It is estimated Filey’s Lawns cemetery will reach full capacity in the next six to eight years and therefore the need to develop and extend additional burial space is the least pressing of the three towns.

It is expected that any proposals the Council have concerning future cemeteries provision in its three main towns should involve a full public consultation process before final decisions are made to embark on appropriate planning processes.