Lack of Muslim burial space at 'critical point'

The lack of space for Muslim burials in Dewsbury has reached a "critical point" due to the local authority's failure to take action , a councillor has said.

Community Alliance representative Ammar Anwar spoke out after Kirklees Council acknowledged the number of burial plots was "very limited".

Anwar said as a result some families were facing the "unsettling possibility of having to seek burial sites far outside their own community".

Council leader Carole Pattison said the authority was working with local communities to increase the space available, with £500,000 allocated to finding a solution.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, fears for Dewsbury Cemetery's "rapidly depleting" burial space have been raised several times over the years.

The matter was first brought up the Dewsbury Cemetery Multi-Faith Action Group in November 2022, who said the land would be used up within 12 to 18 months. But the council said there were enough spaces to serve the community for six to seven years.

In June 2023 a council report said the construction of a new burial ground was required as Dewsbury Cemetery would be "full to new Muslim burials by the end of 2023".

The local authority maintained that spaces would not run out for people of all faiths and no faiths, saying there was enough room to last at least six years, though this included 600 spaces privately owned by the North Kirklees Muslim Burial Committee.

At the time the council, under then leader Shabir Pandor, approved £500,000 to invest in two news burial sites, saying each would offer an additional 1,000 spaces.

However, the matter was brought back to cabinet after a report setting out potential new burial sites did not materialise.

Anwar said: "People in Dewsbury and across North Kirklees deserve dignity, respect, and certainty when it comes to burial provision.

"This shortage did not appear overnight, it has been building for years, and residents are asking why nothing meaningful has been done by the current administration to secure additional space or deliver a sustainable long-term plan.

"Families are now facing the unsettling possibility of having to seek burial sites far outside their own community – an outcome many describe as deeply unfair, culturally insensitive, and emotionally distressing."

Pattison said council officers were due to bring forward options for new burial space in the next few weeks.

She added: "Whatever options are presented to us, we want to work with communities closely on this sensitive and complex issue."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.