Haslingden cemetery could be extended for more Muslim burials
All councillors at Rossendale Council's next full meeting on 16 July will need to vote on the Haslingden idea because it is not included in the current budget for big projects this financial year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.Factors to consider include the council providing a burial service for the Muslim community, council relationships with the community, sources of finance for the work and the need for outside expertise on cemetery extensions, according to a council report.Despite the initial costs faced by Rossendale Council, a failure to develop Haslingden Cemetery would mean a lack of burial provision for the Muslim community and the council missing out on potential future income associated with cemetery services.
Farmland to be used
About 20 plot sales are expected each year and the Haslingden extension would last about 11 years. A second phase could be looked at in future.Financially, the current cost for a grave space, vault and internment is just over £4,000. The report estimates the council's costs would be repaid in seven or eight years through burials, with remaining income from the extension's 11-year lifespan supporting cemetery staff and maintenance.Haslingden currently has six acres of land in use and a small chapel. If an extension went ahead, land that has been leased for farming would be used and a full planning application for a cemetery extension would be required.The next step is to get the full council's approval of funding to progress the scheme through planning.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tottenham ‘consider astonishing new Eze transfer bid that would see Richarlison move on and Newcastle MISS OUT on Wissa'
TOTTENHAM are reportedly considering a stunning 11th hour change to their transfer offer for Eberechi Eze, which would allow them to also sign Yoane Wissa. SunSport understand Spurs and Crystal Palace made a breakthrough in talks on Tuesday by agreeing a payment structure for a £60million deal. 2 2 However, reports suggest the North London club have made a late alteration by offering to send Richarlison - who scored twice in the 3-0 win over Burnley at the weekend - in a part-exchange. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tottenham consider offering shock makeweight forward to Crystal Palace in Eberechi Eze deal to free up funds for a move for Brentford striker and Newcastle target Yoane Wissa
Tottenham are considering offering Richarlison as part of the deal to bring in Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace - and would then make a move for Brentford 's Yoane Wissa. In a stunning development, Daily Mail Sport can reveal that Spurs are exploring a part-exchange involving Richarlison plus cash for Eze, who is valued at around £60million. If that were to happen, Spurs boss Thomas Frank would want to be re-united with Wissa, who he signed for Brentford in 2021. However, sources insist that Wissa has his heart set on a move to Newcastle, who made an improved offer of £35m plus £5m in add-ons on Wednesday. This is set to be formally rejected. We have been told there is a feeling that Brentford are delaying that move because they want to sell Wissa to Tottenham, given their relationship with Frank. This has angered the 28-year-old and his camp, who have been waiting on a deal being agreed with Newcastle for more than three weeks. Spurs would need to free up the attacking space to add Wissa, and that is why they are open to involving Richarlison in the Eze deal, despite him scoring twice the 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday. Arsenal are also said to retain an interest in Eze.
Sky News
31 minutes ago
- Sky News
Gupta pledges UK steel arm to family in bid for Liberty
The metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is plotting to hand control of his remaining UK steel operations to his family in a bid to stave off their collapse into compulsory liquidation and a government-orchestrated fire-sale. Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta is proposing to refinance the business through a pre-pack administration that would result in Liberty Steel's Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) being owned by a trust-like structure set up for the benefit of his family. The disclosure comes amid deepening uncertainty about the fate of SSUK, which employs nearly 1,500 people at sites in Rotherham and several other locations across South Yorkshire. Behind Tata Steel and British Steel, it is the third-largest steel producer in the country. At a hearing at the High Court in London on Wednesday, it was confirmed that the government was preparing to step in and oversee an insolvency of Mr Gupta's remaining UK steel business, as Sky News reported last weekend. The connected pre-pack administration of SSUK planned by Mr Gupta would result in it ridding itself of hundreds of millions of pounds of tax and other liabilities. Begbies Traynor, the accountancy firm, is working on efforts to progress the pre-pack deal. If the petition to have SSUK placed into compulsory liquidation is made, a special manager would be appointed by the Official Receiver to run the operations. A letter from the Department for Business and Trade, which was referred to in court on Wednesday, stated that "the Official Receiver is prepared, should SSUK enter into compulsory liquidation, to take control of SSUK's affairs". "[His Majesty's Government] has been approached by independent third parties who have expressed an interest in returning some or all of the sites to steelmaking," the letter said. One source close to the situation claimed that the ownership structure devised by Mr Gupta would be independent, ring-fenced from him and have "robust standards of governance" - although that suggestion is likely to be viewed with extreme suspicion by observers of his once-sprawling global operations. The source added that Mr Gupta could also use that structure to seek to buy back SSUK from the Official Receiver, with the steelmaking operations' fate expected to be determined at a second court hearing in as many days, scheduled for Thursday. Mr Gupta is understood to have referred in a witness statement to the court on Wednesday to being in "advanced" equity funding talks with Fidera Group, a London-based investment firm which specialises in distressed corporate and asset-backed deals. Fidera declined to comment, although a source close to the firm played down suggestions that it would participate in Mr Gupta's bid to retain his grip on SSUK. Earlier this week, Sky News revealed that BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, had provided a financing support letter with a commitment believed to be up to £75m to Liberty Steel UK in the form of an asset-based loan. Mr Gupta's pre-pack plan faced stiff opposition in court from the petitioner, the collapsed invoice financing firm Greensill Capital UK, which had financed billions of pounds of loans to Liberty Steel's parent, GFG Alliance. UBS, the investment bank which rescued Credit Suisse, a major backer of Greensill Capital, is also a creditor of the company. A Liberty Steel spokesperson said on Wednesday: "Liberty's shareholder has invested nearly £200m, recognising the vital role steel plays in supplying the UK's strategic defence, aerospace and energy industries. "We continue to believe our commercial solution, backed by major private capital, provides the best outcome for the business, its employees and all stakeholders concerned without cost to UK taxpayers or unnecessary uncertainty." The Department for Business and Trade said following Wednesday's hearing: "We continue to closely monitor developments around Liberty Steel, including any public hearings, which are a matter for the company. "We are supporting the Official Receiver so that they are prepared to take the necessary steps should the company enter into compulsory liquidation." Other parts of Mr Gupta's empire have been showing signs of financial stress for years. Mr Gupta is said to have explored whether he could persuade the government to step in and support SSUK using the legislation enacted to take control of British Steel's operations. Whitehall insiders told Sky News in May that Mr Gupta's overtures had been rebuffed. He had previously sought government aid during the pandemic, but that plea was also rejected by ministers. SSUK, which also operates from a site in Bolton, Lancashire, makes highly engineered steel products for use in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and oil and gas. The company said earlier this year that it had faced "significant challenges due to soaring energy costs and an over-reliance on cheap imports, negatively impacting the performance of all UK steel companies".
